


Risen

by prettygirllostt



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Multi, Original work - Freeform, Villain Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-01-23 21:48:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 54,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21327199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettygirllostt/pseuds/prettygirllostt
Summary: Vashti Velaria is bored with her life. She has been born blessed by the goddess of sand and has been pushed down by those around her for her entire life. She wants more so she decides to take it.
Relationships: Original Characters - Relationship
Kudos: 2





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my story of "What if the bad guy doesn't pretend to be good?" Vashti is meant to be an unlikable character. Embrace her darkness.

VASHTI Valeria was born in a sandstorm. It whipped through the open windows of her mother’s birthing room and stung the skin of the midwife. It was what her mother would blame for the rest of Vashti’s life.  
Not that it mattered.  
Vashti was blessed. Blessed by the goddess Syria, of sand and war, and with that blessing came power. Thick, coiled, wild, power that manifested in her every move. Even as a child she was strong. She laughed and the desert laughed with her.  
She was born bored. A child of a high society family, Vashti was born on the ennui of those who came before her. Boredom was practically a rite of passage.  
She was born cruel.  
There was no one to blame for such a thing. Her parents doted on each of their children and though they feared their oldest, they tried their best. Even as a baby she would sink her teeth into her mother’s breast to draw blood. She chased her father with a branding iron at the age of 7 and by the time she was 12, none of her siblings would dare to come near her. Her parents blamed the sand. The goddess. The nature of their child’s blessing. It didn’t matter. Because of their status her parents couldn’t simply ship her off to a temple and they spent her life cowering from the powers that manifested in their oldest child.  
“She’s a monster,” her mother hissed one evening when she thought Vashti had gone to bed. “Can’t we give her to the temple?”  
“You know we can’t. Until she does something publically, they won’t hear of it. They’ll ask for a lesser gift instead,” her father replied.  
Vashti leaned on the pillar outside their bedroom and spun dancing forms of sand in front of herself. The male waltzed the female across the marble floor leaving grains of sand trailing behind them.  
“We’ve given them gifts! Money! Jewels! But she learns nothing in their day classes! She needs to be there full time! Maybe then she’ll have some sense beaten into her!” her mother cried. Her father shushed the woman and the sand figures spun more quickly.  
“The temple won’t take her. I’ve asked. She’s demure in classes. She answers their questions and uses her abilities as she should. They believe we’re shirking our blessing! We can’t keep asking!” he snapped back.  
“She’ll kill us,” her mother said, her voice low. “She’ll kill us all one day.”  
The male figure tripped as Vashti’s head tipped. She looked at them. The female, left standing still as the male stumbled, lunged forward, smashing the sandy head from the male’s body. Vashti smiled.  
She was only 17. 

At the age of 20, Vashti leashed her siblings. She tied ropes of sand about the collars she’d put around their necks and forced them to their knees. She walked them through the long, open, hallways of their home until the sand bloodied their palms and their joints ached. Her mother pleaded with her to stop, never getting too close for fear of her daughter’s wrath.  
“Free them! Please! They’re my children!”  
“Aren’t I your child, mother?” Vashti asked, knowing exactly what her mother would say. She smirked.  
“No,” her mother said, her voice thick with fury. “No. You’re an abomination. May Syria have you as her own.”  
Vashti’s smile widened. “Ask me what it will take.”  
Her mother’s eyes flicked down to her children, the ones she loved, on their knees in front of their sister. “What will it take?” she asked, her voice trembling.  
Vashti cocked her head, dark hair sliding on her naked shoulders. “Say my name,” she requested.  
Her mother’s lip curled.  
“Say it, mother,” Vashti demanded.  
“Vashti,” her mother spat.  
“Now. Beg me,” Vashti said with a grin.  
“Vashti, please. Please release my children,” her mother asked flatly.  
“Oh now, I don’t think you mean it. Besides, you haven’t asked why,” Vashti replied.  
“Why? Why did you do this? What do you want?” her mother shrieked, losing patience.  
“I want what I deserve. You’re all nothing. Human. No power, no god to call your own and yet...I am the one you wish to break. I want what I deserve,” Vashti hissed back, her eyes flashing as the sand snakes around their home writhed.  
Her mother ignored the sound of shifting sands. She looked only at her daughter. The one she’d wished she’d drowned as a baby.  
“And what is it that you think deserve?” she asked.  
Vashti smiled viciously. “Everything,” she said and yanked on the collars around her siblings’ necks. 

WHEN Vashti was 25, she had a routine. She rose in the morning, naked on her bed, and prayed. Her hands traced the white and gold tattoos etched carefully into her skin. Down her shoulders, between her breasts, out to her hips, and along the back of her thighs. She prayed carefully and with intent. Unlike those in the temple, whose words were hollow and only done because they must, Vashti gave her goddess her soul. And she was rewarded.  
Many blessed couldn’t say that their god or goddess spoke to them. Syria spoke to Vashti as a friend or child. This morning was no different. Vashti prayed before standing, relieving herself, then getting herself ready for the day. She strapped on her thin skirt with its slits up to her thigh. She then tied her neverending sack to her hip. The bag was enchanted to allow her to carry up to 20 times her own body weight without feeling a thing. She then started on her jewelry. First, she threaded the golden chain into the ring in her nose and down to the hoop in her navel. She changed out the bars in her nipples for ones with small, golden, bulbs on the end. She checked the ones in her hips and rolled the one in her lip with her tongue. Sorting through the bowl of jewelry on her vanity, she began to fill her ears. Starting with the onyx earrings first, she worked up to the bright turquoise, running 6 earrings up each ear until they reached the cartilage.  
Vashti looked at herself in the suspended water of her mirror and smiled. She lined her lips carefully with the crushed red ink of the fire berries in her mother’s garden then moved on to lining her eyes with kohl.  
Good morning, my dear Vashti. Syria’s rich voice purred in Vashti’s mind.  
Vashti smiled and continued working.  
Ignoring me? Oh dear. Have I spoiled you too much?  
Vashti draped a necklace over her neck and hooked it to the piercing in between her breasts.  
I have a present for you, dearest one. If you’d answer me, I’d tell you the rules.  
“Rules?” Vashti said aloud.  
Syria laughed. There you are. Yes. The rules. It’s a game, my child. A game just for you. I’ve found something for you. Something in your city you must find. If you can do that, maybe there will be more on the other side.  
“Only maybe?”  
Don’t get too greedy. Play the game, Vashti. Find what I’ve hidden. Find the fire in the forge. Maybe then I’ll have more for you to do.  
“I don’t like maybe,” Vashti said.  
The goddess only laughed, her voice sounding far away. Vashti snorted. If Syria was giving her a task, perhaps it was finally time to set out on her own. She leaned back and studied her reflection. Olive skin, tanned and warm, glowed back. Her teeth were sturdy and white unlike other high born children and her eyes, a deep brown ringed with gold, glowed with magic. She’d painted her lips red and they looked full in the bright color. She touched her nose, flicking the ring there. Dark hair that began to kink at her shoulders lay unbrushed on her bare skin and she began to work through the knots as she considered her next step. By the time she was done, she’d come up with a plan. She gathered her valuables; jewels and chains and a pure gold handle of a whip, and shoved them into her neverending sack. She headed for the main dining room where her family was no doubt already eating. Their house, a large marble and stone creation that spiraled up towards the four suns, was shining from the outside as the second sun revealed itself from its morning eclipse. It was hot as it always was on the surface. Vashti was barefoot but only those blessed by Syria or her lover, Jordan, could do such a thing. The sands burned too hot for any others. She sauntered through the halls slowly, savoring the feel of the breeze cutting through them. Soon she would leave this comfort and though the structure of her society made her sick, she knew she would miss such a basic comfort.  
Vashti’s family was seated at their long, wooden table and they all stiffened when she approached. Her six siblings shifted away from her as she neared.  
“Father. Mother,” she greeted. They looked up. “I’m leaving. Today. I would like the key to my vault,” she said.  
“Your vault?” her father blustered.  
Money in Alyria, the capital city of Nevereen, was cut throat and precarious. Its value changed often and even those families who had once founded the city sometimes found themselves banished to the lower levels, far from the sun and sky. Vashti’s father feared such a fate. While he was not of a founding family, a fact he hated about his bloodline, he was prominent in the city and knew what it would take to lose such a spot. The money he’d built up for each of his children was part of that fund. If Vashti took hers, he worried it would tip the scales.  
“Yes. My vault. The one in my name in the catacombs. Do tell me you haven’t spent it all, father,” Vashti said, the threat somewhat pleasant but still unable to be ignored.  
He shivered. “No. It’s there.”  
“So give me the key and you won’t see me again,” she said.  
“Give it to her,” her mother said tersely.  
“But-”  
“It’s hers. Give it to her and she’ll go away,” her mother continued.  
Vashti smiled. “She’s right. You give me what’s mine and I’ll go away.”  
“Forever? You’ll never come back here?” her father said as he fished the key from a pocket in his thin jacket.  
“Oh now father, you know I don't’ make promises I’m not sure I can keep,” she said, grinning as she caught the key he tossed her.  
“Get out,” he commanded and she complied. Her promise was only half of what they wished but it was enough. They watched her go and for the first time in their lives, they relaxed.  
Outside, the sun was punishing but Vashti thought of it as a blessing. Those blessed by Syria were often favored by her lover as well, making the heat and sun a gift they reveled in as well. Jordan, god of fire and strategy, loved his partner fiercely. Together they could make Alyria strong if only they didn’t fear the other gods. Vashi walked on the packed down sand of the road and smiled as those who knew her swerved away. She had no friends and she didn’t bother trying to make them. There was no one for her to go to for help or companionship. Those she’d lain with had been for release and nothing more. She passed the temple of Syria and sneered at the old priests who watched her go.  
She’d learned as a child what she needed to say and do at the temple to not be locked within its walls. She was lucky. High born blessed weren’t immediately sold to the temple like their lower born brothers and sisters. Those who lived below the surface of Alyria in the winding tunnels of the city weren’t so lucky. Pale skinned and sometimes blind, the desperation of their parents usually meant that as babies they were given, for a small satchel of coins, to the tall towered temples that lined the city. Whoever they were born to, they were sold into servitude. They were brainwashed. Forced to kneel to their lesser, human, counterparts and taught that the gods wanted them to do such things.  
Vashti knew the truth. The gods were scared of one another but they hated humanity. They allowed the cruel leashing of their children because it was safer than a war amongst themselves. So, Vashti lied. She told the temple priests what they wanted to hear. She ducked her head, controlled her powers, and let her anger fester. When she’d come of age, she’d stopped attending lessons. There wasn’t much they could do. Without her name locked in their book, they couldn’t cite her a problem and were forced to let her leave. She’d played her part. Her family looked ungrateful for such a blessing and Vashti got away from a life of dancing for the rising sun and making the hourglasses turn on time. She paused to watch a young girl in the robes of the blessed sweep sand along the gold stoned walkway. The girl looked up and for a moment, the two young women stared at one another. Vashti saw a trapped child and the girl saw freedom. She looked away first. Vashti shook her head and continued. She couldn’t help them. Couldn’t save those who were already too far gone.  
She walked on, not really sure where she was going. Absentmindedly, she made her way to the edge of the forest of Oasis and paused. Oasis, like all gods, was a cruel creature. When she passed the trees, she would no longer be held by Syria. Her goddess couldn’t help her in the territory of another. Still, Vashti felt like flirting with trouble today. She walked forward, making sure to stay on the path. Oasis was a trickster god. He was known for luring people off their roads only to confuse them in the wood. His people, a nomadic group, never stayed in one place for too long, instead opting to follow their whims just as their praised god did.  
“I hope your people treat your blessed better,” she murmured as she walked. While most of the gods had a temple in Alyria, kept in the god district of the city, Oasis had no temples, only traveling shrines. Few prayed to him as they knew his nature and didn’t wish to incur it. Vashti was no fool. If she wandered, she would be lost to a god who held no warmth for her. She didn’t look past the trees and ignored the voices that seemed to dance through the leaves. There were no sand snakes here. No heat of the sun. Only the path.  
It was on that path that she saw it. A milk skinned child, battered and bloody, sobbing. As she neared, the child looked up. “Help me,” it pleaded, milky eyes locking on Vashti’s.  
There was something wrong with the child. Not its pain, but something else. Vashti cocked her head. “No,” she said.  
“No?” the child whimpered. “Please! My master left me! My mother is dead! Please!”  
That was a lie. She could tell. “No master would let such a young slave go. You aren’t broken. You aren’t unhealthy. You’re a trick. No. I will not help you.”  
The child stood. Its legs were too long and when its head tilted, Vashti saw a glimmer in those unseeing eyes.  
“A trick? How could you possibly know such a thing?” the child asked, sauntering closer to Vashti.  
Vashti lifted her hand, a knife made of sand swirling in her palm. As she child got close, she hooked it under the chin and it stilled.  
“So you’re alive,” she murmured, feeling the warmth of skin under her hand. “How interesting. What are you?”  
“What are you?” the child demanded. It didn’t step back from the knife.  
“Oasis doesn’t send true forms to hunt for him. But you’re here, in these woods. You are no child. Tell me. What are you,” Vashti continued, ignoring the child’s question.  
“You would trap me,” the child accused.  
“I’ve asked nothing of you except what you are. Do you bleed?” Vashti pressed up with the knife and the child winced. The image flickered and Vashti got the sense there was someone behind such power. “You’re god born,” she said. “Oasis born. You’re his child. How odd. I’ve never met a god born. Curious that he didn’t kill you at your birth.”  
God born were rare. Children made by the union of god and human, not blessed by their hands. Many god born were killed, either by their human parents at birth or by their god as they grew older. They were unpredictable, their powers sometimes rivaling that of their ancient parents.  
“I’m nothing to him,” the child said, its voice warping into something new. Vashti suspected it was the true form’s voice.  
“Now that I believe. Show me your true form,” she demanded.  
“Only if you tell me what you are. Who has blessed you? You walked into these woods, yet you clearly can see the truth. Are you stupid? Or just willing to die?”  
Vashti laughed at the petulant demand. “My name is Vashti Valeria. I was born in a sand storm.”  
“Syria,” the child breathed. The milky eyes cleared to a bright violet. “You’re blessed by war. So, stupidity it is, then.”  
Vashti laughed. “Possibly. My goddess sent me on a quest. For a gift. I don’t suppose it’s you. This is too random for that.”  
“A gift? Syria speaks to you? The gods don’t speak to anybody,” the child denied.  
“Show me your true form. This pale mess isn’t right,” Vashti demanded.  
The child stepped back, a small drop of blood welling at the spot where the knife had pressed. Slowly, the form seemed to grow. The child’s long legs became those of a young woman. The milky skin changed to something paler than Vashti but not as white as it had been. The child’s mouth grew on its too small face before the chest and hips of the woman flared and her head became its rightful size. Soon Vashti was looking into the face of a woman about her age in a long, grey, dress. It was thin and barely hid her form but it covered her enough. The woman put her hands on her hips.  
“Better?” she asked. Vashti nodded.  
“You look better now. Where’s your tribe?”  
The woman snorted. “God born aren’t accepted anywhere. You know that. By the time my tribe figured out what I was it was too late to kill me. So they expelled me. First though, my mother prayed for my father to kill me. He didn’t. Since then I’ve been hunting for him. Hoping he would allow me into his fold. This is just an easy way to get money. Sometimes food or a bed for the night.”  
Vashti scoffed. “You deserve more. We all do.”  
“Well, if the world worked on what we deserve, perhaps I would live in one of those,” the woman said, pointing through the trees to the shining towers of Alyria’s high born homes. “But that isn’t how it works, is it? I was a water bringing for my people until I wasn’t. Now they have a cousin doing it. I wouldn’t wish such an existence on anyone. Being blessed is a curse.”  
Vashti cocked her head. “What’s your name?” she asked. The woman, unmarked and smooth, seemed to consider the question.  
“Aze,” she said finally. “I’m Aze.”  
Vashti looked the woman over once more. “I’m Vashti,” she said. “It’s very good to meet you.”


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vashti meets Aze.

AZE never knew a last name. Her people didn’t have them. She was Aze of the Tranquil tribe. The water bringer. The shame of her mother’s life. She was 24 when her mother cast her out. She’d been abused most of her life but still, she was surprised when the ropes on her ankles were severed and she was told to leave. The small cousin, just barely big enough to pick up a pale of water, was being tapped. She was blessed and could draw water from any source just as Aze herself could which meant Aze’s usefulness was gone. She would have been happy to go if it weren’t for that child. Still, her shame was that she’d run. She’d taken her meager bag of belongings and tripped through the sands. They’d been camped near Alyria but when she’d walked back that way a day later, they were gone. The cousin was to be tortured now. Aze could only feel relief at such a thing.   
She looked up at the blessed woman before her. Vashti wasn’t like any blessed Aze had met before. The blessed Aze had seen were locked in temples. They wore robes and looked out through vacant eyes. If they were lucky, they prayed and were given safe spaces. If they weren’t, they were sold to rich households and used as slaves until they died. Vashti was different. She was bright. Proud. She wore her prayers as armor, her body adorned with jewels and paint. She didn’t crouch, didn’t back down, and she looked at Aze with intelligence and power in her eyes. She hadn’t been beaten down. Whether by luck or sheer will, Vashti Valeria was not cowed.   
“I can help you,” Aze found herself saying. Vashti blinked.  
“Help me with what?”  
“Your hunt. For your gift. Let me join you and I will help keep you safe,” Aze said.   
“I keep myself safe,” Vashti retorted.  
“I can make water. I can make my face different. Isn’t there anything you want that you can’t get on your own? Let me prove myself to you. I promise I can be of service,” Aze pleaded.  
Vashti let her eyes rake over the young woman. Unblemished by ink or cuts, Aze was beautiful. She was too pale for the direct sunlight of Alyria or its neighboring cities but she’d faired well enough. Even her face, speckled with freckles, was smooth. Vashti had always enjoyed such looks. She’d taken servants to her bed for less. She cocked her head. Let her interest show. Aze didn’t baulk.   
“Of service?” Vashti purred.   
Aze blinked up at her and smirked. “Anything you want,” she said. Her heart was pounding. She didn’t know if she could keep such a promise but the blessed woman only snorted and stepped back.  
“Very well. Let’s go.”  
“Where?” Aze asked, stumbling over her feet to follow.  
“To a place where you can prove your worth,” Vashti replied. 

THE road to the catacombs was dark. Aze, in her shift-like dress shivered. “There are no gods down there,” she said.  
“Your father doesn’t love you anyway, why does it matter?” Vashti asked.  
Aze looked up, offended, but the other woman didn’t look like she was mocking Aze, only asking. Aze shrugged as she considered her reply.   
“It doesn’t. I just wouldn’t want to die alone,” Aze said finally.  
Vashti pulled gold coins from the neverending sack on her hip and paid the cab driver, his horse milky eyed and white.   
“We all die alone, Aze,” Vashti said, “The only difference is where we go after.”   
Aze couldn’t disagree with that logic and so she climbed onto the cab with Vashti. It was cold as they began to descend. Vashti took the furs the driver lined his seats with and wrapped them first around her shoulders, then around Aze’s. Aze looked surprised but Vashti only scoffed.  
“If you’re such a big asset, you shouldn’t freeze to death before you prove it,” she said. Aze smiled to herself but said nothing else.   
The lower city spiraled deep into the ground. It buried its people below the surface. The farther down the cab went, the darker it got. The people on the streets were pale and some looked at Vashti with distaste while others simply looked away. The deeper they went, the less people they saw until all the lights on the streets were distinguished and the road became a tunnel.  
“Have you ever been down here?” Vashti asked Aze.  
“To the tombs of the fathers? No. No need. My people don’t have vaults,” Aze replied.   
“I never enjoyed it. Father would bring us sometimes. To remind us of what could be lost if we weren’t careful. I haven’t come down here since I was a child. He stopped trusting me near the vaults when I was only 10,” Vashti said.  
“Are we going to your vault?” Aze asked.   
Vashti snorted. “No. I already did that. You’re going to break into his vault. Show me you can get me into my father’s vault, and I’ll let you come with me. That’s the worth I need.”   
Those born of Oasis could throw their faces. The blessed had a minor ability but his children, when left alive, could be very convincing. Aze could not only change her own face, but give the onlooker something else to see entirely. She’d inherited her father’s gift of hallucination. Getting into the vault would be easy. She crossed her legs and smiled to herself.   
It was a long and slow ride into the catacombs of Alyria. The city had been built on the surface first, its founding fathers burying themselves and their wealth deep below the surface. It was from there that the lower levels grew and it could take hours to reach the vaults. Aze dozed fitfully, the cold making her twitch, while Vashti catalogued what she had. She’d need money and jewels to survive and she wasn’t keen on giving away any of her own. If Aze did prove useful, she could get into all of her family’s vaults and use their wealth to her gain. Money was abhorrent to her, but she would use it if it meant freedom. Syria hadn’t mentioned the gift again and Vashti half believed it had been a trick. Still, she would follow her goddess if only to prove the point that she could.   
When they closed in on the vaults, she shook Aze awake and jerked her chin in the direction of her family’s section.   
“Praise Oasis,” Aze breathed. “Are you original Alyria?”  
Vashti snorted. “No. To my father’s greatest dismay. Close, but not original.”  
“Sure looks like it,” Aze said as the cab stopped.   
“Believe me, we’re not. Close enough but not. Come on.”   
Vashti led her towards the vaults. The line of vaults continued past Aze’s line of sight but she was focused on the first nine. The Valeria family clearly went back generations but there in front of her were the living members of the family. Vashti’s vault was directly after her mother’s, though it was the least well kept.  
“Not too popular?” Aze murmured, not sure if Vashti could hear her. She did. She smirked.  
“Not within my own family, no,” she replied.   
There was a single guard on duty. Aze had heard of such a thing but never seen it. Surface families hired two or three guards, all who did full day shifts of 27 hours, to guard the family vault. They were trained to know each member of the family by sight and they carried the second copy of keys in case one of those members didn’t bring them. Most families used them as a living key but others truly worried about burglars. Aze looked at Vashti. The taller woman swept her hand outward.  
“Prove to me you’re worth my time. Get me into my father’s vault,” she said.  
Aze knew this wouldn’t be hard. It never really was. People wanted to see the easiest thing. It’s why she hid as a child when she was alone. Children were easy to help. To feel bad for and to overlook. This man would want to see his employer. It was easier than admitting the truth. So she slunk into his mind and gave him what he wanted. It was always so easy. The man blinked and straightened.  
“Sir!” he cried.  
“I seem to have forgotten my key,” Aze said, her voice a rumble she didn’t know.   
“Oh. Well that’s fine, sir. Come in,” the guard said.   
Aze shot a smile over her shoulder at Vashti before following. “I brought my daughter,” she said to the guard. He barely looked.   
“Of course, sir.”  
Vashti followed them into the vault and smiled. Her father’s riches had always surpassed her own. His gluttony and paranoia had led to him hoarding money and riches. She opened her neverending sack.   
“Let’s get to work.” 

AFTERWARDS, Aze couldn’t stop giggling. The bag was heavy and filled with riches.  
“We could take all of their stuff, you know,” she said as they climbed into the cab. Vashti adjusted the furs on her shoulders and shrugged.   
“Maybe.”  
“Do you care for them?” Aze asked carefully. Vashti scoffed.  
“Hardly. But bankrupting them so quickly does nothing for me either. I promised they wouldn’t see me again but I made no such promise about going back to my home. I’d hate to have it stolen from them before I can return victorious.”  
“You don’t know what the gift is. How can you know it will effect them?” Aze asked.   
She didn’t know Vashti well but could already tell that the woman’s faith in her goddess was absolute. It was something Aze didn’t quite understand herself. Her father had never spoken to her. He hadn’t killed her but if that was the extent of his love, she could do without him. Vashti, however, seemed to trust Syria completely. She had total faith that what she was looking for would be good and not a trick the goddess played on her. Aze could only wonder what faith that strong was like.   
“It might not. It probably won’t. But it will effect me. That’s what I want. Syria wouldn’t send me after something bad. I simply need to find it. Prove myself to her as you just did to me. There aren’t many god born left in this world, Aze. You’re lucky to be one of them,” Vashti said almost absently.  
Aze snorted and Vashti turned, eyebrows raised. Aze took in the painted face of her savior. Vashti was impeccable. Beautiful in a severe way. Aze had always had a careless streak. It was something she pushed down. The need for adventure. The reckless bits in her that called to her father. They’d felt shameful. She had a feeling that if she stayed with Vashti, the woman would pull those from her and revel in them. She swallowed thickly.   
“I’m not lucky,” Aze said softly.   
“You are,” Vashti said, looking back towards the road. “You might not see it. They all might not see it. But you are. You’re alive. Be happy with that fact.”   
“What’s so great about living?” Aze snapped, surprising Vashti. “Really. What’s so great about being tied to your tribe, literally, and only being spoken to when they need something? What’s so great about temples and their walls? Not all of us get to escape.”  
“You did,” Vashti said mildly.   
“I was thrown out,” Aze replied. “It’s not the same.”  
Vashti studied Aze for a long moment then nodded. “I suppose you’re right. Not all of us are lucky. Fine. You and I. We’re lucky. We’re here. We’re free. And now, we’ll find my gift and decide our next step.”   
“Our?” Aze asked.  
“You proved yourself, didn’t you?”   
Aze’s eyes widened as Vashti chuckled. “Relax, Aze of Oasis. From now on, our decisions are just that: ours.”   
Aze found she had nothing to say to that and instead stayed silent for the rest of the ride. 

VASHTI prayed every evening. It had been three weeks since Aze had joined her and the god born had realized that Vashti never missed a single morning or evening. When asked what had made her so devout, she’d only laughed and put her finger to her lips as if it was a secret. Aze loved to watch her. She traced the intricate tattoos on her chest and her back, sometimes murmuring aloud and sometimes silently, her legs tucked beneath her. It was a ritual unlike any Aze had ever seen. One night, she rolled over on her sleep mat and asked, “Did they teach you that in the temple?”  
Vashti laughed. “No. What they teach in the temples is useless. No. That I taught myself. The gods don’t need some ritual to see us. They only need a truthful and wanting voice.”  
“But she speaks to you. It must mean something,” Aze argued.  
“It does. To me. It’s my ritual that I chose. She answers me because she wishes to. That’s the truth of it. The gods are careful. Some are cowardly. They choose who they wish to support. I am lucky to have my goddess’ favor. I certainly didn’t have my parents’ or teachers’.”  
“You love her,” Aze said. It wasn’t worded like a question. Vashti smiled slightly, an upturned curve of her bare, pink, lips.   
“Yes,” she said.  
Aze tucked her arm under her head. “And nothing else.”  
“What makes you say that?” Vashti asked.  
“You don’t deny it,” Aze pointed out.   
“No, I suppose I don’t,” Vashti said, rolling onto her back on her own mat. “Yes. She’s the only thing I love. She’s the only thing I trust. I heard my parents discuss how they could get rid of me when I was a child. I was terrible. Monstrous. But that was in me when I was born. They knew. They’d always known. They held no love for me and I held no love for them. My siblings were taught to fear me and I used that to my advantage to push them back. Syria is the only thing that has ever loved me for exactly what I am. And don’t say you do. You don’t. You don’t know the terrible poison in my heart and I will not be sorry for it.”  
Aze giggled. “I don’t love you! I’m grateful, yes. But love? Gods, no. I was just curious.”   
Vashti couldn’t help but smile back. “Good. Now sleep. We have more vaults to rob tomorrow.”  
Aze did, chuckling to herself about such a ridiculous notion. Vashti was a means to an end, that was all. In her dreams she heard husky laughter.   
The worst thing you can do, my child, is tell the gods your plans…

SEVEN weeks. For seven weeks, Vashti led Aze into the catacombs and they pillaged vaults. In the afternoons they searched for Vashti’s gift but the mornings were spent stealing. The home Vashti had built them on the edge of the Oasis wood was growing with each acquisition and Aze was finding herself quite comfortable in it. Freedom tasted good. Vashti was still hopeful in finding her gift but she’d grown to like the part of the day where they rode down into the vaults. They always used the same cab driver. They paid him to turn the other way and in weeks, he’d acquired his own wealth.   
It was under his watchful eye that things changed.   
Aze did what she always did. She wore another person’s face to approach the guard. This time it wasn’t enough. Some blessed didn’t present as children. The lesser born or those born of gods that could easier hide could go their whole lives without noticing their gifts. They could write them off as moments of weakness or dreams. The guard Aze approached was one of those people. He could see through her shining face, his goddess, the one of fate and destiny, whispering the truth in his ear.  
“I seem to have forgotten my key,” Aze said brazenly.  
“No,” he said slowly, sounding dazed. “No. You didn’t.”  
“I did,” she tried again, putting more force into the words.   
“No. I saw this. She...she warned me. No. You aren’t my mistress. No!” the man cried. He shook his head like an angry bull.  
Guards were big. Big men with small minds and usually, a streak of violence. When he raised his hand, Aze didn’t stand a chance. She flinched as he brought his hand down. Seconds later, she went sprawling.   
Vashti watched as if from a distance. Aze was not her gift. She was nothing. Not anything worth risking exposure for, at least. As the man kicked the smaller woman in the ribs, Vashti faded back so she was hidden against the cab. She could run. She should. If she went now, Aze would die and he would assume that was the end of it. All of those who had been stolen from would laud him as a hero and they wouldn’t think to look any further.   
Beneath his feet, bones crunched and Aze’s whimpers fell to silence.  
Dearest one….have a heart.  
Syria’s voice was a suggestive purr and it snapped Vashti back into the moment.   
The furs had fallen from Aze’s shoulders and she was bare on that cold ground.  
“I wouldn’t want to die alone.” Aze had said that. Seven weeks prior. Now Vashti was letting the one wish Aze had uttered go sour. The woman had been nothing but grateful. She asked for nothing and gave what she could. She didn't deserve to die alone in the cold of the catacombs. Vashti sighed, straightened her shoulders, and pulled a small pile of sand from her neverending sack. She coaxed it into the shape of a knife and stepped into the lamplight.  
Aze was hardly breathing. He’d beaten her raw and the pain was fading to nothing when Vashti stepped over her. She found the strength to look up. It was as if a goddess was whispering to her, telling her to watch. To hold on enough to see what was about to happen.   
“Stop now,” Vashti said huskily. The guard froze at the sudden attention of the beautiful woman. He blinked, his foot raised. “Poor thing,” she continued, “Your goddess hid you well. I’m sorry she led you to this end.”  
“Wha...What?” he muttered, shaking his head. “No. This is wrong. This is all wrong.”   
“Your goddess sees only one path, not all the options. She doesn’t see what other blessed will do. I’m truly sorry. Those like us...we deserve better,” she said, stroking his shoulder. He began to shake.  
“No…”  
“Yes, dear one,” she said, using her goddess’ own words on him. “I’m so sorry.” She drove the knife upward. His hand tightened on her shoulder as she dragged the blade up his stomach and into his chest. When he began to choke on blood, she pushed him backwards and leaned down as he fell. Aze was cold but her eyes were open and she was breathing. “Come on,” Vashti murmured. “Let’s go.”  
She picked up the smaller woman and carried her to the cab. The driver said nothing. Wisely, he looked away and drove. When Vashti urged him faster he complied and when they reached the sunlight of the outer city, she threw coins at him not bothering to count it. He watched her rush away, bloody furs still tucked around her shoulders. 

VASHTI ran. She knew a healer. A good one. He’d work for her and say quiet if she paid him but Aze needed to live for that to work.  
“Don’t you die,” Vashti murmured into the woman’s ear. “You’re useful. You can’t leave now.”   
She kept the words going as she ran, hoping that her voice would keep Aze with her. When she reached the healer’s house she banged on the door.   
“Vashti,” he said in surprise when he opened the door. “Beat another priest?”  
He looked down at the young woman, limp in her arms and his eyes widened. “You didn’t do this,” he said.  
She shook her head. “Help her. I’ll pay you whatever you want. Just help her.”   
“Vashti Valeria in debt to me,” he mused. “That could be good…”  
“Anything, Zeke, just do it!” Vashti said, her voice rising. He held out his arms and Vashti handed over Aze carefully. Zeke said nothing but he was surprised. He’d never considered that Vashti could care about anyone but here she was, handing over a woman with care and hysteria in her voice. He carried Aze inside and shut the door.  
“You stay out here. The loved ones never do well seeing me work,” he said. The Vashti he knew would scoff at such words but this one only knelt, her eyes closed. She was praying. Praying for another person. “Syria be praised,” he murmured, “May wonders never cease.”   
Syria was too busy listening to Vashti to hear him.  
Please. Please save her. Do not let my hubris kill her.   
You’re asking for mercy. For someone else. Why, my darling Vashti, are you beginning to care?  
I need her. She’s useful. Please. I’ll owe you.  
You already owe me. But for this...for seeing you care about something, I will see what I can do. Love can only strengthen you, my dear. Remember that in the days to come. This is not who I would have chosen but you have never done anything the way I would have expected. I will do what I can and in exchange, for me, you will keep her with you.   
Vashti didn’t know how to say thank you so she didn’t. She dropped her hands and looked up. The door to Zeke’s work room was still closed but she didn’t stand. It couldn’t hurt to pray more. For hours Vashti prayed and for hours she heard only half answers. Finally, Zeke walked out of the room, a bloody rag in his hands.  
“She isn’t blessed. She’s god born, isn’t she?” he asked.  
“You say anything and I’ll shred you to pieces,” Vashti snapped.  
He held up his hands. “I won’t. You know how it goes. Silent and efficient. For a price.” He chuckled. “Never thought I’d see the day you’d care though. It’s almost enough of a payment. Almost.”  
She sighed and shook her head. “What do you want?”  
“Show me what you’ve got,” he replied with a grin.  
“I take it she’ll live,” she said sourly.  
“Oh yeah. She’ll be fine,” he said. “Nearly dead. Someone likes her. Or you. But she’ll be fine. Just needs rest for a few days. Go easy on her and she’ll be good as new.”   
Vashti nodded, trying not to look relieved.   
“Never thought I’d see this day,” he said again. Vashti opened her bag and yanked out jewels and coins. She left a small pile on the ground. Zeke kicked a few pieces aside.   
“You’d give me all of this?” he asked. “Do you truly care that much about this girl?”  
“She’s useful,” Vashti snapped.   
He only nodded. “I don’t need the coins,” he said, surprising himself. “Take them back.”   
“Are you going soft?” she asked.   
He groaned. “Just take your girl and go, Vash.”  
“Don’t call me that!” she exclaimed.  
He chuckled. “Take her and go before I change my mind.”  
He stood, pausing at his shoulder. There was blood on the furs she’d dropped to his floor. Blood crusted to her hands and on her naked chest. The jewelry in her skin was dotted with it. For a moment he saw a flash of her in front of a crowd. Blood coating her skin and a smile on her face. He shook his head.   
“Thank you,” she said. The words were foreign on her lips and she didn’t give him time to marvel at them. She walked past him into the room and scooped up Aze who was still asleep. With the smaller woman in her arms she left, never looking back. Zeke watched her go, knowing that it wouldn’t be the last time he saw her and knowing, somehow, that when he saw her again, things would be different.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vashti hopes Aze is okay.

VASHTI waited for Aze to wake up. She wouldn’t call it fretting by Syria did. The goddess laughed in her blessed’s mind until Vashti waved her away.  
“It was a lapse in judgement!” she said aloud.  
“Saving me?” Aze groaned out, wetting her lips with her tongue.   
Vashti spun and fell to her knees. Her braids whipped quickly with her, smacking into her shoulders.   
“You’re awake,” she said.  
“It seems so,” Aze said with amusement. “I didn’t think I would be again. What did it cost you?”  
“Nothing,” Vashti said, surprised by her own words.  
“Now that’s a lie,” Aze said, her hand reaching out to touch Vashti's leg. “Was it a lapse in judgement?”   
“Saving you? No. I was talking to Syria. It was a lapse to not step in sooner,” Vashti said. She’d never felt what was coursing through her now. She’d never met anyone she liked enough to care about. The relief at seeing Aze moving and talking was new to her.   
“Why? You could have gotten away free. Taken all that money and left here. Found your gift,” Aze asked, clearing her throat.   
“I considered that,” Vashti admitted, “But Syria...she reminded me that I could use you still.”  
Aze settled her palm more fully on Vashti’s leg. “You can. I didn’t expect...you didn’t have to step in and you did. I won't forget that. From now on, I’m with you. No matter what. I thought living was a curse. Turns out I don’t want to die. Thank you for saving me. You have my life, now. I’m yours to command.”  
The promise Aze had made when they’d first met settled between them. Vashti had never once pushed past the boundaries Aze had set. She’d never asked for Aze’s body. Now, with Aze’s green eyes so steadily locked on her and her own emotions in turmoil, she pulled back.  
“I thought you were before,” she said to cover her confusion.  
Aze only smiled and let her hand fall to the sleep mat. “Now I mean it,” she replied.  
Vashti snorted. “You’re a liar.”  
“Isn’t everyone?” Aze asked softly.  
Vashti looked up into the sky. The third sun was moving across the sky. “I suppose you’re right,” she said. 

MY love, you saved the child of another, Jordan whispered to his lover.  
She’s changing. There’s a plan in her mind. Not fully formed. Not yet. But once she sees it...she’s what we’ve been waiting for, darling. She could change this very world.  
She’s a monster, Jordan replied.  
Aren’t we all?   
And the god of fire said nothing more. 

“Fire in the forge... do you think she meant a person?” Vashti asked Aze four days later as they wandered through the market district of Alyria. They’d forgone the stealing, Vashti worried for Aze’s health and Aze nervous to go back down into the dark. They’d taken to wandering the shimmering city, Vashti telling Aze stories of the glass towers and jeweled pillars. They avoided the temple district, both too uncomfortable seeing their own kind caged. Aze liked the market district the best. It was a bustling center of activity and other than the odd seer nailed to their table, there were very few blessed.   
“She might,” Aze said. “There are plenty of metal workers here. We could check there. Or even jewelers.”   
Vashti smiled approvingly at the younger woman and nodded. “Let’s try, then.”

ESHER was an alien in this world. He stood in the middle of the fiery forge, his blessing the curse of the chains around his ankles. He had given himself up. It felt like years ago now though it had only been two. Two years of serving the stern master who whipped him at night. Esher, blessed by Jordan, had never seen the sands of Alyria until they’d brought him, caged and cold, from his home in the volcano range. He’d given himself up for a false contract and a promise that his sister wouldn't be hunted. He had no way of knowing if that were true. He hoped it was. Day after day he beat weapons into submission. He didn’t sweat even when he stood in the fire. It warmed him like nothing else could. It reminded him of home.   
Esher had spent his childhood sunk in the lava of the volcanoes. He’d come out only when his purely human father had brought them food. He’d barely known a life beyond those bubbling hills. Until his father died.   
The ice children always came with the hunters. Esher and his sister, Tyrion, had been told to hide from them first. Children blessed by the god with no name. They were brought from across the sea. No one could say for sure how they were taken but they were always vacant as if their very souls had been scooped out. Esher had given himself up to their cold cuffs that locked him in place. He didn't regret it. Or, so he told himself every day as he forged sword after sword.   
The women and even sometimes the men who entered the shop looked at him like he was on display as well. They eyed him, some asking the master how he got himself such a specimen. He’d grown used to it. The common language of Alyria was rough to him but he understood it well enough. It didn’t flow like his own and he supposed it was a small favor that the words they spoke weren’t said in the lilting tongue he knew and loved.   
He was working when the green eyed woman entered the store. She wore a pale pink shift that left little to the imagination. She had no ornaments on her skin or body and she looked up with kohl lined eyes, her fingers trailing over the weapons as if she were at ease around such things.   
“May I help you?” the master asked, his ice servant cold and unfeeling in the corner. Esher continued to work on the sword in front of him.   
“No,” the woman said. She looked at him and he paused. “He could, though.”   
“Yes, he is quite the creature, isn’t it? Bought em’ from a shipment in Latva. He’s home grown, he is,” the master boasted.  
Esher was used to such words and he ignored it. The woman didn’t smile.   
“He’s a person, not a creature,” she said, stepping closer. Her accent wasn’t quite right, either. He forced himself to not look up. “My mistress would be interested in him,” she said finally.   
“Oh. No. He isn’t for sale. He’s my best worker, he is,” the master said.  
“I wasn’t asking to buy him,” the woman said, cool voice going hard.   
“Ain’t nothing for free in this life, girl. C’mere. Let me show you a real weapon. Mayhaps I’ll even teach ya’ to use it,” the master leered.   
Esher knew the high born women of Alyria commonly left their chests exposed. It was a sign of wealth and power to be tan. This woman’s skin was lighter and she’d hidden it. Still, the master watched her, lust in his eyes. He wouldn’t worry about her. He couldn’t worry about anyone but himself. The blade was almost finished as the woman moved closer to the man and turned up her face. She touched his chin with the tips of her fingers. The man sucked in a breath.  
“I don’t think you know how,” she purred before stepping back.   
The master’s lips flapped and Esher hid his smile with his golden hair around his face.   
“I’ll be back with my mistress. She’ll be very interested in your workers,” she said as she exited the store.  
At the end of the day Esher’s lashings were harder than usual. He took it without a sound, thinking about the dark haired, green eyed, woman with the voice like water. He didn’t dare to hope she’d come back.

“I found a blessed man,” Aze told Vashti that evening. They’d seperated in the market to cover more ground. Vashti was sitting on the sand in the home she’d built them by the wood. Across from her, Aze sat in a pool of her own making, moving her arms in the water around her.   
“I found a few but they weren’t there anymore. They’d had their souls beaten from them,” Vashti said with a sigh. She’d prayed for each one. She didn’t have time for the blessed who chose the temple over freedom but for those who never had a chance she could spare a moment to pray.   
Aze nodded, looking down. She too was saddened by the state of the blessed. Unlike Vashti, she’d never considered her life to be anything special but with the sand siren beside her she was beginning to see it. People parted around Vashti. Even those who didn’t know what she was. The guardsmen of the watch let their eyes linger on her hips and naked chest and those who were also blessed would duck their heads to her. Vashti carried her goddess with pride. Aze was nearly jealous of such faith.   
“We deserve more than this,” Vashti said with a click of her tongue.   
“You and me?” Aze asked.  
“Yes. But all of us. All of us who have been blessed. The gods chose us. We have been touched by them and yet we’re treated like novelties. Toys to put on display or animals to bleed and beat until we die. I saw women chained to tables with bars through their legs to keep them there. Men, eyes vacant, serving mere humans. When did this become accepted? When did the gods become so cowed by the humans they didn’t want that they allowed this?” Vashti demanded.  
“Be careful,” Aze warned. “They’ll hear you.”  
“And do nothing. They always do nothing. They’re too scared of one another to come after me.”   
“You put a lot of faith in their fear,” Aze commented.  
Vashti rolled her toes in the sand, enjoying the feeling of each grain on her skin. “I put faith in what I know. What I know is that the gods have learned to fear one another. I was trained in the temple, don’t forget. I learned the stories. Syria and Jordan once ran the court but humanity fought for favor and soon the gods had turned on one another. Their blessed killed others and in a last desperate try to keep things even, the gods called back their people. They gave humanity the run of the world. They’d hoped that those who praised them but weren’t chosen would level out those who were. Instead the humans enslaved the blessed and god born. They locked them away and hoped that it would cow them. It did. Today the gods are too afraid of another war to rise up. Even as their children cry out.”   
Aze had heard the same story. The gods, worried for their own court, had abandoned their chosen. They continued to bless children but wouldn’t help them. Humans built the temples. A farce for the gods to appease them just enough. Blessed were locked behind high walls and prayers. Humans paid for favor with them, sometimes going so far as to pay to lie with them. The blessed were trained to pray and to help their human brothers and sisters but never to rise to a higher purpose. The gods watched but they never interfered. They allowed their children to suffer.   
“I just don’t see how they don’t rise up. What do they need? A champion? Someone to rally their people together?” Aze asked.  
Vashti stilled. Her goddess was silent but the words rung loudly in her head. A champion. Someone to rally all the blessed together. There were so many different kinds of blessed. Each were abused for a different purpose. Blessed like Zeke, with Diandi’s hands on them were of nature. They were healers, sometimes locked in cells and forced to work until they died. The blessed of the Brisa wood, able to shift into the very wind itself but once trapped in their human forms could be used to change the very direction of the wind. There were others. Hidden and broken and lost. If there was one who could rally them, who could push them to band together for a better world perhaps the gods would rise once more.  
“I hate money,” Vashti murmured.  
“We’ve been stealing a lot for me to really believe that,” Aze said, still not caught up to Vashti’s thoughts.  
“No. Money is abhorrent. It’s dirty. Fake worth that we trade to stay alive,” Vashti said, shaking her head.   
“Then why have it?”  
“Because we need it. But...what if we didn’t? What if trade were for something equal to what you were asking?” Vashti asked.  
“Tell me what you’re getting at,” Aze requested. She knew better than to demand things from Vashti but she was curious.   
“Power. It should always be power. The blessed were knocked down and we allowed ourselves to be. What if we didn’t? I saved you and you bound yourself to me. What if we save the others? What if we give them someone to believe in?” Vashti mused.  
“Are you saying you want to start a war?” Aze asked, stunned.  
“I want those like us to stand where they deserve,” Vashti snapped.  
“And where is that?” Aze asked.  
“On the backs of those who beat us down.” 

You can’t be serious, Jordan said.  
She is just what we’ve been waiting for. Look at her. Feel her soul. She will not yield. Her convictions…  
She’s destruction. You can’t control her, he pleaded.   
I don’t want to control her. I want to let her be free. If she finds him, will you believe me? Will you trust me?   
I’ll listen, my love.   
That’s all I can ask for, I suppose. Now hush. I want to hear this.

THE next morning the woman returned. Esher tried not to watch her but when a taller woman followed her inside, he gave up the pretense. The ice child, a boy of only 13, watched too, his eyes blank. The dark skinned woman wore only a thin, white skirt. Her breasts were adorned with jewelry and her body covered in swirling white and gold tattoos. She was proud. Where the other woman, the one with the green eyes, was delicate and gentle, this one was loud. He would think to call her feral if it were his place to find a word for it. She sauntered around the small store, stopping in front of his forge at the center but looking only at the blade in his hands.  
“You,” the master growled at the green eyed woman. Her dark eyed companion looked up.  
“I’ll thank you not to speak to my friend that way,” she said, sharp words coming from red painted lips. Her voice was husky and deep and could not be mistaken for anything but a challenge.   
“Unless you’re spending money in my shop, get out,” the master snarled.  
“I only want one thing from you, I assure you,” the painted woman said. She spared a glance at the ice boy but dismissed him quickly. He was lost as most of the ice children were. Whatever was done to them on their trip across the sea took something from them. They had no souls left.   
“Is it somethin’ you’re payin’ for?” the master asked.  
The painted woman laughed, her companion joining in. “No,” she said. “It’s something you shouldn’t have paid for.”   
The master scowled. “I told your friend yesterday. He ain’t for sale,” he snapped.   
“And I’m not asking,” the painted woman said, her head tilting. Esher stopped moving. He stopped breathing. Something was in the air. Something he’d never felt before.   
“You ain’t takin’ him,” the master growled.  
“I think I am. We can do this easily, though honestly, I’d like it if we didn’t,” the woman said. Her companion shifted closer to the ice child. “Let me have the sun siren and you can go about your life like none of this ever happened.”  
“No!” the master said. The painted woman smiled.  
“Oh, I’d hoped you’d say that,” she cooed. The master began to bluster as both women moved. The smaller one went to the boy first. She shushed him, something shimmering over her face as he looked at her. Water formed in her hands and she lowered it around the boy’s face. He didn’t fight, only stared at her. She was speaking softly but Esher couldn’t hear her. He was too busy watching the painted woman.   
There was a rage in her that matched his own. Her eyes seemed to spark as she reached into the flames and took the burning blade he had yet to finish. She was blessed by Syria, he knew then. Only those blessed by his own god’s lover could stand the feel of the flame. She brought that molten blade up and into the stomach of the master as the ice child drowned. Together, the two women killed those that had been keeping Esher and he blinked in surprise as the master choked on blood and began to die.  
“If you’d like, you could give the killing blow,” the painted woman told him. Esher nodded. He took the blade from her and stepped from the flames. With the boy dead, his icy manacles had broken. The master gargled on blood and tried to speak. Esher didn’t listen.   
“He kept you in a cage. You are not some creature to be locked away,” the painted woman said, fury in her voice. “Kill him so he knows it too.”  
Esher did.   
Blood was on his hands as the master fell. The green eyed woman closed and locked the door, turning to the painted woman with worry in her eyes.   
“Vashti,” she said, “What if someone sees?”  
“We have time. Find his sale papers,” the painted woman, Vashti, said dismissively. The other woman nodded and hurried to the back of the building. “You,” Vashti said, “Are free. I will ask one thing of you but know that if you say no, you’re free to leave.”   
Esher nodded. He tried not to look at her bare breasts. She smirked as if knowing that his eyes were drawn downward.   
“You’re a fire in the forge,” she said. It wasn’t a question so Esher waited. “Have you ever heard your god speak to you?”  
He shook his head.  
“Can you speak?” she asked.  
“That’s more than one question,” he said in reply. She laughed slightly.  
“True. Alright. Here’s the question then. Will you stay with us?”  
“Us?” Esher asked.  
“Yes, us,” she said gesturing towards the office where the green eyed woman was walking out of. “I’m Vashti Velaria and this is Aze of Oasis. And you are?”   
“Esher of Latva,” he said. “My sister is still there. No. I will not stay with you. I need to go home.”  
“The blessed need to band together, Esher. And I believe you are the gift my goddess promised me,” Vashti said.  
Aze stepped up behind Vashti. Esher didn’t miss the possession in her eyes as she gazed at the painted woman. He shook his head.   
“I must go home.”  
“What if we go with you?” Vashti asked. Aze looked surprised.  
“Vashti, we didn’t discuss…”  
“You said anywhere, did you not?” Vashti asked sharply. Aze nodded. “Well alright, then. We’ll go to Latva with you, Esher. If you’re inclined to allow it.”  
“What do I get out of it?” he asked.   
“I want to build an army,” Vashti said. “And I want you to help me do it. You’ll get us out of it. Power. And, if I’m right a way to liberate your home.”  
“You’re crazy,” he laughed slightly. “There’s never been an army of blessed before. They’ll kill us before we reach the gates.”   
“Or we’ll surprise you,” Vashti said. The fury in her seemed to flare, calling to him. He tilted his head. His god had never spoken to him. Jordan wasn’t known for speaking to any of his blessed children. Still, in that moment, a breeze seemed to run over Esher. He knew then what he was meant to do.  
“A gift?” he asked. Vashti smiled.  
“My goddess told me to find the fire in the forge. I believe that’s you.”  
“Do the gods want us to what...mate?” he asked.  
Aze’s nostrils flared but she said nothing. Vashti laughed.  
“Gods, no. They want something more. Blessed children are cursed in this world. Aze has said as much and I believe we’ve all seen it. It’s time we rise up. What else could the gods of war want of their children?” she asked.  
“You think Syria and Jordan want us to build an army?” he asked.   
“I think they want us to change the world,” she said.   
She was alluring. He would give her that. What she asked of him was what ever blessed secretly hoped for. Esher wanted more for his sister who was trapped in the volcanoes. He wanted to destroy the icy children who locked them in cages and kept them weak. He wanted to run the streets with the blood of those in Latva. They knew. They all knew and yet no one did anything. No one ever did anything. He’d seen the temple of Jordan in Alyria. It was a beautiful jail. Caged animals taught to perform tricks for human masters danced inside its walls. None of it felt like what a god would wish for. Still, it seemed too easy. Too good. He snorted.  
“You’re a pretty thing,” he drawled and delighted as her chin lifted. “But that’s not enough, I’m afraid.”  
She shoved him. He stumbled under the sudden touch and fell into the flames. She followed him, eyes bright.   
“What would be enough?” she asked, bare feet standing on the embers. He looked up at her. For a moment he could see Syria’s face. The descriptions always varied, each person claiming a different beautiful woman took her place, but he knew it was her. It was the power and the rage of a warrior queen. He stood. Slowly he reached out and took her face in his hands. Her companion hissed, stepping forward but not into the flames. He stroked Vashti’s cheek and then slammed his forehead into her nose.  
She cried out as Aze snarled. Vashti stumbled back out of the flames, her hand over her bleeding and broken nose. Before he could think, water formed around his head. Aze was god born and her green eyes glowed as she drowned him. He clawed at his head but there was no place to go. No way to swim free.   
Vashti waved her hand, wincing as she laughed. “Aze, stop. It’s fine.”  
Aze dropped the water and Esher dropped to his knees, wheezing. “You touch her again and I’ll kill you,” she snarled at him.  
“Good little lap dog you’ve got there,” he said as he coughed.  
Vashti put her hand on Aze’s shoulder, her tan skin a contrast to Aze’s milky white. “She is my equal. Both of you will stop. We need to stand together.”  
“Your nose,” Aze said, turning to look at the bloody appendage. Vashti shook her head.  
“We’ll go see Zeke. He’ll fix it easily. I’m fine. And you…” she looked down at Esher. “Welcome.”   
He grinned. When she offered her hand to help him up, he took it. Somewhere, a goddess was laughing. 

ZEKE opened his door to find Vashti once more on the other side. The woman she’d brought to him was behind her left shoulder and a new man, golden skinned with hair to match and eyes the color of ember, stood by her right.  
“Careful, Vash,” he chided with a grin, “People might start to think you have friends.”  
She pushed past him into his house. “Just fix my nose,” she ordered.  
“Fix my nose, bring my friend back to life, fix this man’s wrist but don’t tell the temple…” he mimicked. “You know, I might start to think I’m your friend.”  
“What you are is convenient and discreet,” she said, turning dark eyes on him. He laughed.   
“Yeah, yeah. Come on. Sit down. Let me see it,” he said.  
Her companions followed her inside and as he prodded her newly broken nose he asked, “How are you? You were pretty beat up last time I saw you.”  
Aze shrugged, her eyes on the blood on Vashti’s lip. “Alive,” she said.   
“More than,” Zeke replied, his gaze following the curve of her calves upward. Vashti caught his chin and jerked it up.   
“Stop looking at her and fix me,” she snapped.   
Zeke grinned as he watched Aze smile to herself and the quiet man beside her notice as well.   
“And you. You must be new,” he said, ignoring Vashti’s order.  
“Esher,” the man said. Zeke nodded.  
“I’m Zeke. Vashti’s personal healer, it seem.”  
“We’re leaving so you won’t be for much longer,” Vashti retorted.   
“Where are you going?” Zeke asked as he touched Vashti’s nose. She winced but didn’t pull away.  
“Latva. To get the blessed from the volcanoes and make an army,” she said. Zeke stopped.  
“You’re joking,” he said.  
“Have I ever been known to do such a thing?” she retorted.  
“If you aren’t then you have a death wish,” he said.   
“I have a vision,” she said.  
He grabbed her nose and pulled, smirking slightly as she cried out. The bones righted, he began to prod at the skin around it.   
“You’re crazy. Well, if it works, count me in when you get back,” he said.  
Aze and Esher looked shocked and he laughed. “I’m blessed too, didn’t you know?”  
“Diandi,” Vashti explained.  
“Of nature and healing. Luckily, those like us tend to be overlooked. Or kept on retainer for rich families. I got out of it by being just weak enough,” Zeke explained.   
“Weak?” Aze asked.  
“I can’t sense animals or draw them in. I focused on the healing arts. Most families or hunters want someone who can do both. Lure in the animals and heal those who have fallen. I was trained in the temple but thanks to good behavior and high family standing, they let me walk free. Like Vash, here.”  
“Vashti,” she muttered.   
“So, I work out here, in this hut, and don’t tell on her when she does naughty things like hurt priests for selling blessed girls to the highest bidder,” he finished with a grin. His fingers began to glow slightly as he moved them around the swollen skin of her nose. As they passed, the skin settled and when he pulled his hand back, her nose looked like it had before. He grinned and patted her knee. “Good as new.”  
“You hurt priests in the temple?” Esher asked.   
Vashti nodded. “They would sell the girls who came of age. Say that the men were bidding for the goddess’ favor but it was a disgusting lie. One in particular would sell to his friends. His friends were cruel. I couldn’t save the girls from that fate but I could hurt the men who put them there. I broke that man’s hands a few times.”  
“And once, his skull. Luckily, head injuries can be so confusing,” Zeke added.   
Esher chuckled. “I like you more now,” he told Vashti.  
“Oh good. I was so worried,” she said.   
“He the one who broke your nose?” Zeke asked, jerking his chin at Esher. She nodded. Zeke leaned across her to offer Esher his hand.  
“Nice one,” he complimented. Esher grinned. “Well, if you don’t die on this suicide mission of yours, I’ll be happy to see you when you come back.”  
“No you won’t,” Vashti retorted.  
“Hey!” Zeke snapped, causing her to look back at him in surprise. “I will stand with you. I’m no good in a fight and I’m useless at a hunt but I can heal. Diandi has blessed me with my gifts and I will use them to help you. If you’d allow it.”  
“We aren’t friends, Zeke,” Vashti said forcefully.  
Zeke laughed and stood. “Yeah, I know. But you’re right. You always have been. The temples deserve to fall. All of us who are hunted and hurt deserve better. The least I can do is offer my services.”  
“For a price?”  
Zeke shook his head. “For all of us.”   
Vashti’s mouth opened but she could say nothing. Aze pulled some coins from her own bag on her hip and pressed them into Zeke’s hand.  
“Thank you,” she said.   
He nodded. “Take care of her, yeah?” he replied.  
“I can take care of myself,” Vashti snapped.   
Aze and Zeke ignored her. “I will,” Aze said. They clasped arms briefly as Vashti stood. She snorted.  
“Let’s go.”  
Aze nodded and went to follow, pausing for a moment to look at Zeke. She had a feeling they’d see him again. He nodded to her as she turned to go. She nodded back as the door closed. With a sigh, Zeke flipped the coin she’d given him and went back to his work. 

“YOU two together?” Esher asked Aze as she packed up her things. She’d come to love the house Vashti had made of packed sand. She’d built it around a tree, giving Aze the comfort of the forest in one small corner. It was more of a home than Aze had ever known. She understood why they were going. It didn’t mean she liked it. She looked up as he asked and snorted.  
“Together?”  
“Like a couple. I’ve heard that in Alyria that’s okay,” he continued.  
“It’s okay everywhere,” Aze retorted. “But no. What makes you think that?”  
“You nearly killed me for touching her,” he said.   
“You broke her nose,” she snapped back.   
“Right. I can’t say I get it. She’s a little...prickly.”  
Aze snorted. “She’s more than that. She’s unkind. Cruel. But she has this idea and the more she talks about it, the more I think she’s right.”  
“That’s the reason you’re doing this?” Esher asked, amusement in his voice.  
Aze stopped packing. “She saved my life,” she said. “That’s why. When there was no reason to. When it would have been easier to let me die, she saved me. She prayed for me. She paid Zeke to keep me alive. That inspires faith, doesn’t it?”  
Esher laughed. “You’ve had a shit life if that’s all it takes.”  
Aze scowled. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. She’s more than what you see. So I’ll follow her. I don’t hear you protesting us going with you.”  
“I’m not an idiot. I’ll need help to get to my sister. You’re offering. So I’ll take it. Doesn’t mean I’ll go with you everywhere like a lost puppy. Were you really beaten so badly that’s all it takes?”   
Aze hissed and Esher laughed.   
“It’s too easy, spitfire,” he said.   
“You can joke, but you’ll see,” she said, eyes flashing. “Vashti will lead us somewhere great.”   
“Right. And you’re not together,” he said.  
“We’re not!” Aze cried.  
“Not what?” Vashti asked as she walked into the small house. She was putting jewels into the sack on her hip and she looked up, braids slipping along her shoulders.   
“Nothing,” Aze said, flushing.  
Esher smirked but said nothing. Vashti shrugged. “Are you ready?”  
“It takes weeks to walk to Latva,” Esher said.  
“I know,” Vashti replied.   
“Are you sure?” Aze asked softly.   
Vashti touched the start of the swirling prayers on her chest. “I’m sure,” she said. Esher shrugged.  
“Well then, Let’s go.”


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Esher, Aze, and Vashti head for Latva. Tyrion is introduced. The city of Alyria plans on how to hunt them.

IT took four weeks to walk to Latva. Or, at least, that’s what Vashti had heard. She’d never left Alyria and she paused at the final marker for her city, turning to look back at the shining towers gleaming in the light of three suns.

“Your city is barbaric,” Esher said as he passed her.

Vashti scowled at him. “Your people are trapped in volcanoes.”

He shrugged. “So is mine.”

She snorted, her eyes still on the glittering towers of Alyria’s upper city. 

“So. you and the spitfire,” he said, jerking his head towards Aze.

“Spitfire?” Vashti asked, eyebrows raised.

“Anyone who tries to kill me for a headbutt is a spitfire,” Esher said.

Vashti inclined her head and continued to walk. She ignored the foreign feeling of the road beneath her. Instead of pressed sand, it was stone. Uneven and hot beneath her bare feet. 

“What about us?”

“Do you lie with her? In Latva women don’t lie with other women but I confess, it’s a strange fascination,” he said.

Vashti snorted. Ahead of them, Aze pretended not to hear.

“Women lie with women everywhere, whether men know it or not, Esher,” Vashti replied. “And it’s always been a fascination of men. You aren’t special in that. But no. Not that it’s any of your business what we do.”

“She said the same thing,” he said.

“Did you think she was lying?”

“Maybe. I couldn’t tell. She’s certainly loyal. I thought maybe…”

“You thought I was fucking her into submission,” Vashti said bluntly.

“Well I wouldn’t put it like that…”

“But you just did. Words don’t always cover intent and I’ll say I’m insulted by such an idea. You think sex is enough to keep someone loyal? You’re sadly mistaken,” Vashti said. 

“Oh I don’t know. Look at you,” he grinned.

Vashti stopped and turned to look at him. “I am a snake, make no mistake of it. I could swallow you whole. Be careful what advances you make. I might just bite.” 

He looked at the jewels winking at him from her belly up to her breasts and between them. She was a decorated cobra. A rattling serpent that drew its prey in, only to strike quickly and without fear. He nodded. 

“My apologies.” 

Vashti snorted. “I don’t believe it but I’ll accept it. Come along. We have weeks to go. It would be a shame to kill you so early.” 

Esher believed her. He believed that she would kill him the moment he became too much for her. So he kept his mouth shut. He walked a little faster to catch up with Aze. She snorted as he got closer.

“You think I’d lie to you? For what purpose?” she asked.

He winced. “I didn’t think you could hear us.”

“I hear very well, thank you. Now, what reason could I possibly have for lying to you about sleeping with her?” she demanded. 

Esher looked back but Vashti had picked up a sand snake and was murmuring to it. 

“I thought you might be ashamed,” he admitted. 

“Of what?” she asked. She knew but she wanted him to say it. She felt a vicious sense of satisfaction when he flushed. 

“Of liking women,” he said. 

She could appreciate his candor, at least. His ability to just say what was on his mind even when put on the spot was something she didn’t possess to quite the same extent. 

“I can admit to liking women just fine,” Aze said, her chin lifted. “I’m from the Tranquil tribe of Oasis. Our people promote soul bonds, not bodily bonds. I like both men and women. Is that such a shock?”

Esher shook his head in disbelief. “As a boy, my mother taught us about Alyria and some of the tribes of Despori and Oasis. She didn’t know much about Brisa or the country with no name, but she knew enough about the others to tell us stories. She said that in Alyria, women could marry women and men could marry men. Partners didn’t matter much. She even told us that Oasis had a male partner when he visited the humans but that’s not what Latva was like. Jordan had Syria and that was the way it was meant to be. A woman and a man. Women liked men and vice versa and that was it. It wasn’t discussed. It wasn’t even an option. The boys around me would whisper about two women together. We’d wonder what it would even look like. I didn’t see a woman naked until I was caught. They stripped us together and I saw what was between your kind’s legs and I wondered even more what it would be like. It’s a curiosity to me, to be sure.” 

Aze laughed and stopped. “Vashti!” she called. “He wonders what two women together would be like.”

Esher muttered in Latvian under his breath as Vashti approached. “Oh, it’s quite beautiful. Syria was known to take female lovers sometimes and the art in the temples is...divine. Did you know that the blessed of Delana exclusively lie with women? For them, the delicate beauty of women is all there is. Her blessed are chosen not from a pool of her own blood but from scratch, as her followers don’t make unions the way a man and a woman do.” 

“Have you been with a woman?” Esher asked. He figured if they were going to discuss such things, he might as well be bold.

Vashti’s tongue came out and smoothed over her lips. He noticed a silver bar through her tongue as it moved. “I have. Have you?” she asked.

Esher was 27 years old. He shook his head. Vashti laughed and Aze giggled. 

“Shame,” Vashti breezed, shouldering past him even though the road was wide and clear. “It is such a beautiful act.” 

“And you?” he asked Aze, determined not to be intimidated. He didn’t miss the way her eyes flicked to Vashti’s naked back. 

“I have,” she said. 

He snorted. “Would you both like to show me?” he grinned.

Aze scowled but Vashti laughed.

“We’ll see how well you do, hm?” she said, raising her eyebrows. The ring hooked in the right one glittered in the light of day. His grin widened. 

“I can work for that,” he said.

Vashti’s laugh followed her as she kept walking. They had weeks to go. It seemed they might be able to make it. 

IN Alyria, Breddick Hodge, head of the city watch, looked over the bodies of the ice child and his master. The bloody mess that was the master was easier to solve, even if he couldn’t find the weapon. At least something had very clearly stabbed him. The ice child seemed to have drowned on dry land. He frowned.

“Sir, two women were seen exiting with the sun siren in his employ around the time of death,” another guard said. Breddick sighed.

“Who gave you the time of death?” he asked.

“The blessed you brought in, sir. They’ve all agreed. They’ve said the two women might be blessed as well.” 

“So we’ve got some rogue blessed,” Breddick murmured to himself. 

“Should we start a search, sir?” the guard asked. Breddick shook his head.

“They’ll be long gone now. No. Go to the temples. Find out who is free and I’ll go inform the Council. What a way to start the day…” He wandered away from the building, ignoring the questioning looks from those in the market. Deaths like this were always hard to close. Blessed could kill in creative ways and were hardly ever charged, lest the gods get angered by the wrong culprit being punished. Unless the officer was sure, they didn’t press charges and the killers walked free. He rubbed his temples. The city Council wouldn’t be happy to hear of the murder. 

He trudged towards the tower at the center of the city. Around him, life went on. He passed the temple district, scoffing as he went. People were told that the blessed were contained. That they lived their lives for their gods and would never consider hurting a human. For the most part it was the truth but every once in a while someone slipped through the cracks. Why it had to happen on his watch was beyond him.

“Gods bless me,” he muttered as he climbed the stairs. “This is going to be a mess.”

The Council consisted of six men, each from a high ranking family in the upper city. They went by their lasts names and were constantly changing thanks to the ever changing landscape of funds in Alyria. Breddick prayed fervently that the current Council was lenient. He was announced quickly and he began to sweat as he entered. Their desks were all raised above floor leveling, giving them the illusion of looming over the speaker on the floor. 

“Breddick Hodge. We haven’t seen you much since you began. How is our city?” one of the Councilmen asked as Breddick fidgeted. 

“I’m afraid I’ve come with bad news,” he said.

“We assumed,” another said. The other members chuckled without humor. 

“It is rare that a city watchmen comes to our bench. Tell us, Hodge. What’s going on that you’ve brought it to us?” 

Breddick bit his lip. “It seems there’s been...a murder.”

“Murders are not unheard of. Why did we hire you if you can’t handle a little murder?” 

“A murder by what appears to be...at least one...blessed,” Breddick said slowly. He clenched his fingers into a fist as the six men stared at him. He wished their seats weren’t slightly raised. It made them seem more powerful and made him feel useless. 

“At least one?”

“At least. Possibly two. Women. They must have been free since no one noted anyone with temple robes going in before the murders,” Breddick explained. 

“Murders. More than one.”

“An ice child used to keep a sun siren in line and the owner of the store,” Breddick offered. 

“The ice child is of no concern. The owner was human?” 

“Yes.”

“You said there was a sun siren. Where is it now?” 

“I...I don’t know. It seems he was seen leaving with those who killed the owner,” Breddick said.

There was a long pause where Breddick counted the cracks in the old, stone floor and hoped they wouldn’t call for his head. 

“What are you doing to find them?” 

Breddick blew out his breath before replying. “I’ve sent my men to the temples. Any woman who is free will be found. I only came to tell you, my lords. To prepare you. I’m sure they’ve left the city.”

“You’re sure?” 

“How are you sure?”

“I...I just...they killed two people, my lords. If they’re still in Alyria, we will find them,” he stuttered under their stern gazes. 

“The shop owner is our only concern. Find his family and bring them to us. We will compensate them for their loss. Bury the child in the graves of the forgotten.”

Breddick nodded quickly and turned to go.

“And Hodge. If you can’t finish this we will finish you. Do you understand?”

Breddick nodded again and hurried from the room, lest they change their minds. 

IN Latva the main city was a port town. The volcano range spread far beyond the ocean, some even resting in the water itself. The people lived quite happily in the main port and some beyond the range and in the hills and flatlands that led to the rocky lands of Despori. It was a rural country with a lilting language and a vibrant people. Humans born to it lived there quite happily and could be seen discussing their beautiful home on the roads to other cities where they sold their goods. 

It also was home to the sun hunters. Crude and dirty men who spent their lives in the range dipping fire nets into the lava in the hopes of catching the sun sirens who hid there. They sometimes came with ice children. Sometimes they came alone. But whenever there were men in the range, the sun sirens hid deep in the lava. They closed their eyes and slipped below the bubbling surface, listening only to the rumble of the Earth below them. Each one knew how long they could go without food and water. Each one knew how deeply to slide below the heated surface to stay hidden. 

Tyrion of Latva was doing just that when the hunters moved past her, talking of the murders in Alyria. She had her head just below the lava’s surface to hear them and was glad she did as they spoke. 

“Few weeks ago,” one of them said. “They’re sayin’ it was some kinda sand siren. Bitch shoulda’ been locked away. When they gonna’ learn?” 

His companion chuckled. “I had one of em’ last time I was in the city. Squirmy thing. Praise Syria, eh?”

Tyrion hid her disgust and brought herself just a bit closer to the surface. 

“They’re sayin’ this one killed for another of er’ kind. One of these,” the hunter said.

“A sunny?” his companion asked.

“Yep. They’re sayin’ it was one of Red’s.”

“Yikes. Red musta’ been messed up. He brings in the good ins’.” 

“Big one. Broad and gold, they sayin’. The one who took em’ was a lady.”

The companion laughed. 

“Lusty things, sirens. When they gonna’ learn. They belong on their knees. Prayin’.” He laughed again. Tyrion gagged. 

“Prayin’ and with your stick in their mouths?” 

“Don’t you know it!”

“They’ll catch em’. Always do. Lock em’ back in their towers. A few lashin’s and a good fuck- I mean prayin’ and they’ll be good as new. You’ll see.”

“Well, let’s get some friends for em’, eh?”

Tyrion released the breath she’d been holding as they walked away. A sun siren had been freed by a sand siren in Alyria. Last she’d heard, Esher had been brought to Alyria. She didn’t want to hope, didn’t dare to. Still, she ducked down into the lava and listened to her heart beat with the very core of the Earth. If it was Esher, maybe he was free. Maybe he’d run. Maybe he’d finally be able to have a life. As she hid she wished for only one thing: If it was her brother, he wouldn’t come back for her. 

“TELL me about your sister,” Vashti said. They were four weeks into their travels. It seemed the estimate Vashti had been given on traveling time was wrong, though they were close. Esher could tell mostly from the ash in the sand. Others had passed them but they didn’t dare ask for a ride. Instead they walked at a steady pace. The sun was going down and it was nearly time to stop for the night. It was always about this time that Vashti asked him or Aze about their past. They were never allowed to ask about hers.

“Tyrion?” he said. “There’s not much to tell. We grew up in the range, with the others like us. My mother was blessed. My father was not. He loved her anyway but they killed him for it, inevitably. Mother taught us never to love after that. She told us it breaks you.” 

“My mother said the same thing,” Aze said. 

Vashti stepped off the road and wandered towards a small patch of grass. They hadn’t seen a single tree in days but she could try to at least offer Aze some green. Aze looked grateful when Vashti gestured to the patch. She rolled out her sleep mat and put her hands out so water formed around it. 

“My mother never spoke to me of love,” Vashti said idly. 

Both Aze and Esher stayed quiet and still. They could each count on one hand the amount of times Vashti had spoken of her family. It was a rare occurrence and one they both coveted. 

“No one but Syria has spoken to me of love,” Vashti continued as she rolled out her mat. “Well, and you, Aze. I don’t believe my mother thought I was capable of it.”

Esher raised his eyebrows at the other woman. She shook her head, wrinkling her nose at him. While Esher watched Aze watch Vashti, he’d noticed that Vashti watched Aze just as much. It amused him to no end, though he didn’t dare poke at Vashti about it. Aze was an easier target.

“I told you I didn’t think you loved anything,” Aze said, “that hardly counts.”

“When you nearly died, Syria mentioned it. I think that was the first time. But we were talking about your sister, Esher, weren’t we?” Vashti asked.

Aze’s heart beat quickly at the words but there was no way to bring the conversation back if Vashti didn’t wish to and it was obvious she didn’t. Esher looked even more interested and delighted at the words. Aze turned back to her mat and dipped her toes in the water around it. 

“Well, like I said, there isn’t much to say about her,” he said when Vashti looked up at him expectantly. 

“We’re going back to Latva for her. I’d assumed you’d have something more to say about her,” Vashti said.

“I mean, I care about her, obviously. She’s my sister,” he said in exasperation. In truth, he didn’t like talking about Tyrion. She was his last tie to his family and she felt like his biggest weakness for it. He didn’t want to give them more information for fear he’d bleed out right there in the sand. He’d gotten by so far by not discussing her. It seemed like a good strategy so far. 

“I have four sisters and I care for none of them. That’s not necessarily a fact,” Vashti said.

“Yes, well, you’re...different,” he said.

Vashti smirked. “That’s a kind way to put it.”

“I don’t want to die on the side of the road halfway to my home because I said something wrong,” he retorted. 

“I’m a monster, Esher. It’s easy enough to admit such a thing,” she replied.

“Yet you take in strays,” he said, not sure why he was choosing now to push back but delighting in the way color rose in her cheeks. If it wasn’t so obvious between her and Aze, he’d be interested. His body certainly was, but that wasn’t what caught him. It was her rage. The anger in her eyes when humans passed them, blessed chained to their cabs or walking beside them. It was the way she gritted her teeth when men’s eyes ran over her unprovoked. It was even the twitch of her fingers that made fine grains of sand dance when she was obviously annoyed with him, like now. He squared off, watching her consider her options.

“Aze follows me. She proved that she deserves to be here.”

“You saved her life,” he said. “She even told me you didn’t need to.”

“Do I need to defend my choices to you?” she demanded.

Aze kept out of it. She knew to leave well enough alone, though she watched the conversation with interest. 

Esher laughed. “You make it sound so terrible that you didn’t let her die. Is it a flaw to you? To care?” 

Vashti’s chin dropped and Esher knew immediately he’d crossed a line. He hadn’t even known he’d been toeing it but he backtracked quickly. 

“I suppose I’ll have to prove myself to you, then?” he asked. 

Vashti looked up. The flash of vulnerability was gone. She stood. “I have to pray,” she announced without answering. She marched a few feet away and knelt, leaving Aze to kick Esher.

“What were you thinking?” she hissed. 

“I didn’t…”

“Clearly!” Aze shook her head. 

“Why does she not want to care?” he asked.

Aze shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t want to either. She’s just better at it. Would you want to? If you knew people kept letting you down?”

“People do,” Esher pointed out.

“So? Don’t you want to be like her?” she prompted. 

Esher looked over. The suns were lowering in the sky and it was a dusty pink blending to violet. In the light, Vashti knelt, her hands tracing the patterns on her skin. He sighed heavily. 

“Before my father died, he’d tell us the story of how he fell in love with our mother. It was rare, but we loved the story. Mother would smile when he told it. Tyrion would tell me she couldn’t wait to fall in love and even though I never said it, I agreed. I wanted it so badly. My parents were happy despite our circumstances. Then my father died and mother was never the same. I forgot to love. I learned to just survive. I haven’t even thought of the word in years. I  _ am  _ like her. I just don’t wear it the same,” he said. 

Aze nodded, looking thoughtful. “She’s done some horrible things. I know she just doesn’t care but I can’t help…”

Esher didn’t say the words. He knew it wasn’t the time. He nodded. “There’s something about her.”

“It’s why I’m here. Not just because she saved me. It’s her. She said she wanted to build an army and from anyone else that would’ve seemed crazy but from her? I believe in her. I believe this is where I’m meant to be. However she needs or wants me,” she said.

“Even naked beneath her?” Esher asked with a grin, unable to help himself. 

Aze kicked sand at him so he laughed. “Like you wouldn’t!”

“I think I’ve made my interest quite clear. She just doesn’t like me.”

“You’re such a  _ man.  _ That’s probably part of it. If you’d just...be yourself without all of that it would be easier to like you,” Aze said.

“Are you saying you don’t like me, spitfire?” he joked. 

Aze snorted and looked up as Vashti came back. There was something different about her. It seemed like her edges were sharper. Aze cocked her head but Vashti said nothing.

Vashti?” Aze asked.

“Sleep. We have a few weeks, still. We need our rest,” Vashti said, her back to her companions. Hesitantly, Aze nodded.

“You’re right. Of course,” she said.

Vashti closed her eyes.

_ Build your army, darling Vashti. Build it and I will help you. Build it and you, my dear, will rule this world…. _


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aze and Vashti get together. They take over Latva.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The actual sex starts here, just as a warning.

AZE dreamt of Vashti’s mouth. Of her pierced lip and silver barred tongue sliding over her skin. She dreamt of Vashti’s tan thighs between her own. She dreamt of wetness on her fingers and moans caught in her mouth.

She woke unsatisfied. 

They were three days outside of Latva and she huffed, rolling onto her back. Vashti and Esher weren’t awake yet and she crawled her hand down her stomach. For weeks she’d dreamt of Vashti. Sometimes, there was a rich laughter following her moments of waking but this morning all there was, was frustration. She looked over at the other woman. Vashti slept curled on her side. She hadn’t yet adorned her face for the day and it was beautifully bare. Aze wished to touch it. She’d been with Vashti for months now and her want had turned to a burning need. It felt as if Jordan himself were fanning the flames of it. She dared to slide closer across the sand, her fingers touching Vashti’s outstretched palm. Vashti’s hand twitched but she didn’t wake. 

Vashti was dreaming of Aze. Not that the other woman knew it. Vashti was good at hiding her feelings. It was confusing enough without saying it aloud. Before Aze and Esher, when Vashti wanted skin beneath her, she would simply lie with a servant. Men, women, it didn’t matter. What she craved was hers to take. This was different. She dreamed of flesh, yes, but she also dreamed of Aze’s eyes. Of the woman’s laugh and the splash of cool water that accompanied it in the evenings. She dreamt of smooth, small, hands tracing the patterns of her prayers and woke wishing that Aze would help her pray. 

Syria had mentioned it. Vashti hated those conversations. But her goddess had given her more power to help her build her army. She wasn’t in any position to ignore her. So she listened and she dreamed and in the morning she tried not to watch Aze move. 

Esher knew. Of course he did. Men always knew when women didn’t want them and Vashti didn’t want him. At least, not in the same way. Where Aze was cool, something to calm the raging sand storm inside of her, Esher fanned it. Esher’s flames would help her burn and she had no time for that. Not yet. But Aze. Beautiful Aze. Clever Aze. Trickster Aze with the bright green eyes. She could have her. She knew she could. She feared it. And Vashti hated fear. So she ignored it.

On this morning, something touched her hand as she clawed to waking, wetness between her thighs. She twitched her fingers but it didn’t move. She opened her eyes slowly, shocked to find Aze watching her. 

Aze sucked in a breath and went to pull back, an apology on her lips but Vashti’s hand caught her wrist and she stopped. 

Vashti said nothing, she just grabbed and pulled. Aze didn’t fight. Her lips parted as she slid across the sand, joining Vashti on her sleeping mat. She reached out with her other hand. It trembled as she touched one of Vashti’s braids. Vashti nearly purred and Aze gasped. 

“Syria told me I was wrong to assume,” Vashti murmured.

“To assume what?” Aze asked. She bit her lip as Vashti touched her cheek under her eye.

“That I was too monstrous for you to want me too,” Vashti said. 

Aze shivered. “She was right,” she said.

That was all Vashti needed. The women forget Esher who slept peacefully only a few feet away. When Vashti pulled her close, Aze didn’t care who saw. Their lips crashed together and she moaned with want. She’d been holding back but now she couldn’t. Vashti’s hands were warm and rough with grains of sand. They trailed down her neck and pushed the straps of her sleep dress down. Aze let her. She would let Vashti have whatever she wanted even if it destroyed her. Vashti was terrible. Like a crack of lightning in the sky or a bite of a poisonous creature, there was a thrill that came with her even if it could destroy the one it hit. Aze had watched Vashti. She’d killed Esher’s master easily and without blinking. She was ruthless and singular with what she wanted. Aze was experiencing her focus now and she drank it in. 

Vashti pushed her back and slid on top of her.

“I’ve dreamt of this,” she said. Aze blinked, hands on Vashti’s naked hips.

“You have?” she asked in surprise.

“Is that so odd?” Vashti asked, voice husky.

“You don’t…”

“I have wants. Needs,” Vashti said.

Aze felt something in her sink at the words but then Vashti continued. 

“I have never done this with anyone I...knew well,” she said delicately. Aze spread her legs and let Vashti sink between them, smiling. 

“Me either,” she confessed. 

Vashti snuck a glance at the sleeping Esher. “Do we wake him and make him move?”

Aze laughed. “No. Let him learn something.” 

Vashti chuckled and ducked to kiss Aze once more. 

It was hot and rolling, mindless and easy. Aze traced down Vashti’s tattoos until the woman groaned and Syria came to see.

_ Why, my darling, look at you,  _ Syria purred.

Vashti rolled her hips with Aze’s hand. 

_ You care for her. You look sinful. Oh, how I wish I could join you but for now I’ll just watch… _

Vashti shook her head and pulled Aze back down to her. They rolled in the sand, their bodies meeting. Sometime in the middle of their passions, Esher woke. He was startled by the noises and he froze when he saw them. Aze’s dress was around her waist and her legs were tight around Vashti’s shoulders. Vashti’s mouth was between Aze’s legs and Esher’s eyes widened as he watched Aze arch her back and moan. Her fingers were twined in Vashti’s braids, eyes bright and watching the other woman’s head. She looked up and saw him, smirking, her green eyes darker than usual. 

“Hes awake,” she said, tugging on Vashti’s hair. 

Vashti didn’t stop and Aze squealed at whatever Vashti had done when she’d spoken.

“Alright, then,” Aze laughed breathlessly. She let her head fall back in the sand. “Alright.”

She repeated the word again and again until her body jerked. Esher had seen matings. They were done quickly when the hunters were gone and they didn’t linger. This was not like that. Aze’s body shook and Vashti slid up it slowly, her pierced tongue coming out to swipe at her glistening lips. She paused above Aze and pushed back her hair, smiling as the other woman’s eyes opened. Aze pulled her in and they kissed. 

For two people who wouldn’t admit their feelings, they looked comfortable in each other’s arms. Vashti let her weight settle on Aze and she turned her head to look at him.

“Like what you see?” she asked.

It was the most playful she’d sounded with him and he smiled back. 

“Yes. I missed the opening though. Would you do it again?” he asked.

Aze laughed and kissed Vashti’s shoulder. She lifted her own shoulder, noting a bite mark ringed with blood on her arm.

“You drew blood,” she accused Vashti, though she didn’t seem upset by it. 

Vashti licked the blood away and Aze shivered. For a moment the two women paused as if considering falling into one another again but then Vashti looked up. The sky was warming with light. They still had another week to reach Latva. She pushed off Aze gently and offered the woman her hand. Aze took it and let herself be drawn to her feet. Her knees shook and she laughed.

“I can’t tell if it’s been too long or if you’re just that good,” she commented.

“I’d like to think I’m just that good,” Vashti said. Aze nodded. After a moment of indecision, she drew Vashti in, kissing her again. Vashti hummed into the touch and Aze pulled back with a smile on her face.

“Do you regret it?” Aze asked, ignoring Esher’s eyes on them. 

Vashti smirked and lifted Aze’s chin. “No,” she said firmly. Aze flushed and pulled away. 

“Okay. We should get going, shouldn’t we?”

Esher laughed to himself. They might never admit how they felt aloud but it was obvious it was there. Vashti was cruel. She was vindictive and vain. But for some reason, Aze mellowed her. The Oasis born was the cool wash of water Vashti needed and even Esher could see it. And Aze needed Vashti too. Vashti made her proud and gave her freedom. He hadn’t known either of them before they’d met but he could see who they had been. Their morning activities had showed him what a real mating could be and he resolved not to settle for less. They’d been beautiful together. He watched them pack up, moving around each other as if they’d been doing it forever.

“Esher! Help us!” Vashti chided and he shook himself into motion. They were a week away from Latva. A week from his sister. He hurried to clean up, nervous energy making him bounce on his toes. He didn’t miss the way Aze watched Vashti or the way Vashti smiled as she packed. It seemed that they’d finally found each other. As he hiked his bag up his shoulder he let them walk ahead of him. It seemed they needed the time alone. 

BY the time they’d reached Latva’s borders, Aze knew Vashti’s body intimately. She had many marks to prove it, too. They’d wake in the morning, side by side, and before the suns had fully risen, they coupled. It had become almost a ritual. After, before she washed, Vashti would pray. She wouldn’t tell Aze or Esher what was said between her and her goddess but she seemed settled, if not a little sharper every day. 

“She’s giving Vashti more power,” Aze theorized the day before they walked into the city. 

“You think she can do that?” Esher asked. 

Aze shrugged. “I think the gods are capable of anything. Syria loves her and she loves Syria back. Maybe that’s enough.”

“Is it enough for you?” Esher asked.

Aze snorted. He’d tried to bring up their relationship a few times to Aze only to have her shut him down. This was no different.

“Stop trying to dissect this. It just is. I’m fine. She’s fine and by tomorrow, you’ll have your sister back and you’ll be fine too. Maybe then we’ll be rid of you,” she snapped.

He didn’t mention that he’d been considering staying with them. For five weeks he’d been working with them. Vashti was right. She was cruel. Unkind and abrupt. But he liked her despite all of that. The power coiled in her was truly a gift. He thought that maybe, if he stayed, she could teach him how to be proud too. He shrugged. 

“You’re right. I’ll have Tyrion back. If this goes how we planned.”

“I have a plan,” Vashti said. “We can get into the city with just the three of us. We just have to scare them.”

“They’ve all seen sun sirens before. We aren’t new,” Esher pointed out.

“But a god born?” Vashti asked, her lips quirking upward as she looked at Aze. “She’s our surprise. She’s more powerful than both of us and no one will know what she is until it’s too late. By now I’m sure the reports of your escape have reached the city. Which means they’ll be looking out for you. You act like she’s your captive and she can help get you in. Neither of us are bothered much by the ice children. Keep us close and we’ll get you to the range.”

Vashti pulled out a map of Latva. She’d bought it off a street vendor a few days prior and had been studying the city day and night. 

“The main gates are the only way into the range that won’t take days to clear so it’s our best bet. We’ll take the hunting roads up. Take them by surprise,” she said, her finger running up a path on the map. Aze and Esher leaned in. 

“What about the port city guards? They’re right at the front gate,” he asked.

“That’s where you and I come in. We’ll fight our way through. Keep Aze a secret as long as we can but when we need her…” Vashti looked over at Aze who nodded.

“I can do this,” she confirmed.

“I didn’t doubt it,” Vashti said. “Once we get into the range...do you think those hidden there could blow the volcanoes?”

“Blow them? Probably. We’ve never tried but there are certainly enough of us hidden up there. You want to blow the volcanoes?” he asked.

“I want to bury the city. The only way we’re keeping Latva is by killing everyone in the port city first,” she said.

“Wait, what?” Esher asked. Aze blinked and nodded her own confusion.

“I want to keep Latva. In order to make an army, I need blessed. It’s not practical to drag an army across the world so...we need to keep the countries we take,” Vashti explained as if it were easy.

“Im sorry, I’m confused. What are we doing after Latva?” Aze asked.

“We’re going into the Despori caves, of course. Delana’s blessed hide there. I’d like to find them next. After that we’ll just...head towards the coast. The Brisa wood...the rolling sea. Anywhere we can find blessed, we’ll go. Get as many as we can and take as many places as we can. We’ll need them. Alyria is well protected. It’ll be the last stop,” Vashti said.

“You’re insane,” Esher said, shaking his head.

“Syria gave me the idea but Zeke made it possible. He pledged to stand with me when I returned. If I can build a big enough army and show those in the temples that life can be different, they might rise up. What else could take Alyria down but their own blessed?” 

“That’s a lofty goal,” Esher said with a whistle.

“It’s why Syria’s been giving you more power, isn’t it?” Aze asked.

She was rewarded with a smile. Vashti flicked the ring in her lip with her tongue. “Clever Aze,” she praised. “Yes. She knows what I wish to do and to show her support, she’s given me more power. If we can take Latva I might even be able to convince her to talk to Jordan.”

“About what?” Esher asked.

“About you. If you decide to stay with me, that is,” Vashti said. “Now come along. We’re only a day away. We should be able to have the city by nightfall.” 

“Talk to her about me for what?” Esher asked, ignoring the rather monumental task in front of them. 

“To give you more power. It stands to reason that if I can get more power, you can too. Aze, I don’t think I can get you any more, but you understand,” Vashti said as she kept walking. 

Aze nodded. She did focus on the task at hand. “You think we could conquer Latva in a day?”

“I think we could take the port in one day. The rest will be down to the sirens in the range but the main city? Yes. We only need to topple the port to gain access to Latva. There’s only one main gate into the whole area. If we control it…”

“We control who comes in and out,” Esher said, finally seeing the plan. If they could blaze their way through and then blow the volcanoes, they could take the port in one day. It was a big “if” but Vashti inspired confidence in the most insane plans. She nodded to him in approval. 

“You see it, don’t you?”

“I think you’re insane but I’m willing to try,” he replied.

She smiled. “Good. Let’s get going.” 

THE city of Latva had a wide, copper arch that gave visitors entry to the port city. It was heavily guarded for this very reason and Vashti stopped far enough out to consider it. For weeks Syria had been feeding her power. Small sips of a larger pool that had slowly filled. Vashti could feel it. It rippled with every step she took. She was ready to play with it and she smiled to herself, her hands running over her bare skin in a quick prayer. Syria didn’t answer but Vashti felt warmth in her spine as if someone had laid their hand there.

“What’s the plan again?” Esher asked nervously.

“We’ll walk up with Aze. She’ll look like our hostage. She’s got the right face for it,” Vashti said, smiling quickly at the other woman. Aze nodded, trying not to blush. “We’ll go on the offensive and do as much damage as we can before calling her in.”

“If they have ice children there you’ll need to cover me,” he warned. Vashti nodded. She’d assumed as much. Sand sirens could be held by other means, but sun sirens had one very large weakness and protecting Esher meant watching out for it. 

“Are we ready?” she asked.

“What do we do if we get seperated?” Aze asked.

“Make your way up towards the range. Don’t stop. We’ll meet there,” Vashti said.

“And if one of us gets hurt?” Esher asked.

Vashti shook her head. “Not an option. The gods stand with us. This will be glorious and swift, I promise you.” 

She began to stride ahead of them. Aze looked at Esher. “I wish I had her faith,” she said dryly.

“May the gods be with us,” he said then followed. 

The guards weren’t ready for the decorated sand siren. That much was obvious when she stepped into their line of sight. They’d been warned of a siren and when she lifted her hands, causing the ground to roll, they knew exactly who she was. Still, they didn’t know how strong she was. When the first wave of five soldiers ran out of the gate she buried them with a wave of her hand. The next round ran for her and she stuck their feet in the sand with a yawn.

“Try harder,” she commanded before opening the sand and burying them too.

Esher and Aze watched in awe as she easily vanished four waves of soldiers. Only when the hunters stepped out did she look back for them. 

“Time for the real fun,” she called, a smile on her face. When the hunters raised their bows she didn’t look at them. She watched Esher. He had never used his abilities for something like this. Vashti hadn’t even asked him. He’d never practiced. But as the hunters nocked their arrows and let them fly, he instinctively knew what to do. The arrows didn’t make it to Vashti. There was no blood. No cries of pain. They went up in flames first. The hunters who had been watching only Vashti, looked at him quickly.

“Two of them!” was shouted down the lines. Esher knew that Latva had a good sized collection of hunters even if their guardsmen were sparse. No doubt they were being rounded up now.

“Syria bless us,” Vashti murmured. “Keep our aim true.”

She brought her arms out wide, took a deep breath, then, as the hunters lined up to block the gate, she clapped loudly in front of her body. It was as if the sound was enough to knock them back. The ground rolled once more and whips of sand flew to lash at their legs. Vashti laughed, her head thrown back. 

“That’s…” Esher watched the hunters regroup. “She’s given you so much more.”

Vashti only smiled. “Let’s go.” 

Getting in the gates wasn’t all that hard. Aze stumbled behind her partners, playing her part and letting her horror at the blood in the sand show on her face. She’d never been one for violence. She’d never thought that it accomplished much. Her mother had beat her as a child and all it had done was help her to foster resentment. Esher and Vashti clearly didn’t share her opinions. They slaughtered the men who stepped in front of them without blinking. One man took Vashti’s sand knife to his throat and she laughed when his blood sprayed onto her chest. 

Aze had known that Vashti was brutal. But looking at the drying blood on her lover’s naked chest made her feel ill. She’d run her tongue over those marks. She’d traced Vashti’s curves with near reverence. Watching that same body take life after life made her uneasy. It was almost too easy for her to pretend to be a hostage. 

The people of the port ran for their homes when it became apparent that Vashti and Esher were through the gates. Families fled and babies cried. All the while, the two sirens killed with ruthless efficiency. It wasn’t until the line of ice children came into sight that Esher faltered.

“Believe in the gods,” Vashti said. When he still looked uneasy she caught his chin harshly in her bloody hand. “If you can’t do that, believe in me,” she said. 

At those words he nodded. He might not believe in Jordan but he did believe in Vashti. It surprised him how much. He would follow her into the range. He suspected that if she could do this, he would follow her anywhere she asked. She walked in front of him towards the ice children. There were hunters behind them. Waiting. Watching. Vashti didn’t look at them. She wished she could free the children but whatever had been done to them was irreversible. She sent a prayer to the god with no name, hoping he was listening and that he was kind to his lost children. 

The tallest child cupped his hands around his mouth and spit. A sharp spike of ice imbedded itself in Vashti’s shoulder before she could move. She jerked back and Aze felt rage fill her as Vashti’s blood dripped. 

Violence was not the answer, she knew that. It didn’t stop her from drowning them all. Like she’d done to the boy in the weapon’s forge, she surrounded the line of children with water. Vashti was trying to wipe the blood off her arm, the ice on the ground where she’d dropped it. Aze stepped forward and let her face change for each child. Some saw faces they’d long forgotten while others saw only their god waiting for them on the other side. She drowned them easily, willing them to breathe deeply and end their torment faster. It wasn’t their fault. Vashti was right. This world was meant to be theirs and instead they were hurting each other. Anger boiled in her as the children dropped. When she raised her eyes, the hunter’s faces were white and they fled up the path towards the range. 

No one else dared to attack them. Aze stepped up to Vashti, her hand going to the wound.

“Vashti…”

“I’m fine,” Vashti said dismissively. 

“You’re bleeding,” Esher said.

“A small price to pay for such a win. We have to get up there,” she replied.

“Vashti…” Aze tried again.

Vashti tipped her head to look into Aze’s eyes. “You did well,” she said kindly. “Come. There’s more to be done.” 

The hunters, having seen their most powerful assets felled, had run back up the path. They thought they knew the range better than the sirens climbing the hill but Esher had grown up in the range. Even having been gone for few years could not erase the memories. 

“Humans are creatures of habit,” he told Vashti who nodded in approval and wiped her own blood down her thigh under her gauzy skirt. “The hunters like to hide in the shadows. They keep their nets coiled there so if anyone walks out of the range, they can just grab them. Sometimes they keep their own things there.” He pointed to a dark corner. “Places like that.” 

Vashti sent a snake made of sand into the darkened corner. It returned with nothing and she moved on slowly to the next one. This went on step by step as they got into the range. Vashti took her time, not wanting to be taken by surprise. Esher watched each new darkened corner with sharp eyes, fire sparking off his fingertips. He’d never considered his blessing helpful but now that he’d used it, he could feel it burning in his veins. When Vashti had brought up blowing the volcanoes he hadn’t fully understood. Now he wanted to do it. He could feel the lava calling to him.

“Praise Syria,” Vashti murmured as the snake made of sand slithered from a corner with a net. “We’re getting close.”

And they were. Ahead, the hunters waited for them, hoping for the element of surprise. There weren’t many left. The ones who had stayed in Latva were only there to hold the range. The others had gone into Alyria and Despori as well as the cities beyond to sell their spoils. Children were being carted off to the land with no name as they stood there. 

“Red’s lucky,” one of the hunters whispered to another. “He got out.”

“We will too,” his friend said, clapping him on the back. 

“Oh I wouldn’t be too sure,” a cold voice said from behind him.

Tyrion had heard the commotion. She’d moved closer to the port town road when she’d heard the news of the sun siren and his savior. She’d hoped even as she’d cursed him and sure enough, her brother had returned. It had to be Esher. Only he would be stupid enough to come back. 

The hunters spun on her but she was ready. She was more powerful than her brother. It was why he’d given himself up. He might be used to forge swords or jewelry but Tyrion could have been used for more. Some men liked to bed high powered blessed. She supposed it made them feel strong. Esher had been trying to buy her out of a life like that. Chained and broken and always with the biting cold. 

She brought her hands up and flames coiled from them. Unlike her brother, who avoided his power, she’d played with it. She’d dreamed of a day where she might turn it on those who had hurt her family. It had only been a dream but she used those ropes of fire to burn the men. They howled and one tossed a nut over her. She hissed at him and struggled but the nets made to hunt in the lava were strong. 

Vashti rounded the corner first. A slim sun siren, naked except for the lava stuck to her skin, was struggling in a net and two of the hunters lay dead. 

“Tyrion!” Esher cried as he saw the girl. He ran for her and Vashti desperately threw out a wave of sand to knock the hunters back. 

Love made you stupid. If he’d waited she could have freed the girl quickly but now she fumbled to keep up with his sudden break from the plan. The hunters rushed her as they recovered from the sand. She ducked fists, thanking the temple for the morning dance of greeting and its flowing, deliberate, steps. Aze’s water seeped around her feet and she smiled. She could trust Aze, she knew. Aze would be behind her, protecting her from anything she couldn’t see. Esher was on his knees trying to untangle the net as Vashti and Aze knocked down the last few hunters. When there was only one standing, he raised his hands and backed towards the volcano that Tyrion had pulled herself from. 

“Careful, loves,” he stuttered. “Wouldn’t want to do somethin’ you’d regret.”

Vashti looked at Aze then at Esher. Esher stood. 

“I don’t think I’ll regret it,” he said. He shoved. The man fell backwards into the volcano. He didn’t sink. It was a myth that people sunk. The sirens themselves had to pull themselves down into the lava. It was with their help that he sunk. He didn’t have time to cry out. His body was already burning as they yanked. Esher watched for a moment before turning back to the net. Aze rounded on Vashti, prodding her shoulder.

“Ow!” Vashti said with a small laugh.

“They shot you,” Aze said accusingly. “You said no one would get hurt.”

“If that’s the worst you got, you’re lucky,” Tyrion said, clearing her throat. She hadn’t spoken aloud in many days and her throat felt scratchy. 

Aze ignored her to poke at the wound once more. “We should’ve brought Zeke,” she said.

“He would’ve died. Aze. Aze, look at me,” Vashti prompted. Aze looked up, trying not to look as worried as she felt. “I’m fine. It barely hurts. And we did it, thanks to you. Once we blow the volcanoes, Latva’s port city will be ours to control. Well, yours.” She looked at the dirty and tangled Tyrion.

The girl was malnourished, her ribs showing with each deep breath she took. That wasn’t what Vashti was looking at. Esher had an anger in his eyes and she found its kin in Tyrion’s. That’s what she wanted. 

“What?” Tyrion asked, coughing as Esher finally freed her. 

“Latva. It’s yours. Your peoples’. When we go,” Vashti said.

“I’m confused. You fought your way up here to what? Take back the port?” 

“Is it taking back if it was never yours?” Aze asked herself. They ignored her. 

“To take back all of Latva. The port is the start. Right now their guards are either scared shitless or dead. The hunters are dead as you can see. Aze killed the ice children they had stationed here. The people are scared. They’re waiting. If you rally your people and blow the volcanoes, you can burn them all. Then this city is yours. You’ll control the only entryway in that isn’t known by your own kind. You can take back this whole country, if you do it right,” Vashti said.

Tyrion looked between Esher and Vashti. There was something there. Vashti was the one who had broken him out, of that she had no doubt, but her brother watched the women as if she were the goddess herself.

“You don’t think this is crazy?” she asked him.

“If anyone else said it, I would. But Tyrion...her plan got us here. We killed them all. It’s easy to blow the volcanoes now. We just never tried it because…” he trailed off, unsure why.

“Because there’s a morality issue that most people have,” Vashti said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t have that. Let them all burn.”

“Even the children?” Tyrion asked.

“Did the children see the ships of slaves being brought in and sent out? Did they know how you hid here, skinny and dirty, just so you could live?” Vashti demanded. “Will they, if they don’t already?”

“You want to use an entire city to make a point?” Tyrion shot back.

Vashti smiled. It was cruel and inhuman. Perhaps her brother wasn’t wrong to look at the woman like a god. “No. I want to burn an entire city to tell them what’s coming.” 

Tyrion looked at the three people standing before. She shook her head. “You’re all crazy.”

Vashti shrugged. “Maybe. But sanity never did much for our kind, did it?” 

“Just consider it. Get them out and ask them,” Esher said, interrupting his sister’s thoughts. 

“You want me to pull our people from the range for this?” Tyrion snapped. “That’s insane! It’s all insane! You shouldn’t have come back here!”

“Love is stupidity,” Vashti muttered, causing the siblings to turn and look at her. “You two. She’s so scared for you she’s yelling and you’re so scared for her  _ you’re  _ yelling. Pull them from the range. No one is going to hurt them right now. They’re too terrified to try. If they don’t agree with my plan, by all means, go back into hiding.”

“Why are you here? It can’t be for me,” Tyrion said bitterly.

“Esher came for you, no doubt. I came here for allegiance. Whether you decide you want to rule your own destiny or not, I came to ask you a favor,” Vashti said.

“And that is?”

“When I come back through here, you pledge yourselves to my cause,” Vashti said.

“And what cause is that?” Tyrion demanded. 

“I want to give this world back to those who deserve it. We have been burned and buried, frozen and killed by humans who are lesser. Humans whom the gods don’t love and who go nowhere in their deaths. We should rule this world. So, I am looking for an army. For people to stand with me when this world is to fall. I want you,” Vashti replied steadily.

Tyrion blinked. She hadn’t expected that. “You...you want an army? Of blessed? Of all blessed? Is that even possible?” 

Esher nodded. “I didn’t believe either but Tyrion, we got to you. We got you free. Doesn’t it seem like it’s possible?”

“You’ve had weeks to think of this,” Vashti said. “It’s alright if it takes her some time.” 

“It seems insane. It will always seem insane. You’re crazy. And possibly evil,” Tyrion said. 

“Did you want to save the children? I suppose you could. You could pull them from their homes first,” Vashti said mildly. 

Tyrion stared at her. “I’ll pull those who are in this part of the range. We’ll ask them. If they agree, we can get the others. It takes a few days for the guards to replenish when their numbers are down and the other hunters just left with a shipment. We have a few days, if you’re right about what you did. Give me that time and I’ll see what my people think about blowing the range.” 

Vashti gestured widely. Tyrion took the gesture to mean she could begin and she grabbed her brother’s elbow under the pretense of him helping her. Vashti let them go and sat at Aze’s urging. 

“You’ll need to change,” Aze said softly. “You’re covered in blood.”

Vashti only had a few skirts. She never covered her chest even in the cool of the evenings and her skirts were all high slitted gauzy things that left little to the imagination. She would need to wash, probably in the water Aze provided for her. As she thought it, Aze brought a hand up, water cupped inside of it, and pushed it against the wound. Vashti hissed slightly at the burn. 

“You can’t let it get dirty,” Aze murmured.

“Aze…”

“They shot you. It...scared me, that’s all,” Aze said without looking up. She had no healing powers. She could only wash out the wound and hope it would heal on its own. 

“Caring is a weakness, Aze,” Vashti said gently. She didn’t fully believe it. It was because she cared that she’d trusted Aze at her back. She’d known without a doubt that Aze would protect her.

Aze only shook her head, a smile twisting her lips. She knew Vashti cared for her. It was in the way the other woman gasped her name as the suns rose over the horizon. It was in her absolute trust when she prayed and it had been there when she’d run to help Esher, knowing Aze would be there to help her.

“You ran after him. If this was before, you would have let him die for his stupidity,” Aze said instead. She was already close to the line Vashti had drawn between herself and the others. She couldn’t push it too far for fear of losing her partner. 

Vashti shrugged, looking away. “I told him we’d help him find his sister. So we did.”

Aze let it go. She hummed her response and kept swishing the water in the wound. When she pulled her hand back she asked, “Do you think they’ll side with you?”

“Gods willing,” Vashti said. It wasn’t a yes or a no and Aze knew better than to ask again. She sat back and looked over the range.

“I always pictured volcanoes bigger,” she confessed. “We never stopped in Latva because of their laws around blessed. I might not have been treated well but at least I was a person. Here...well we aren’t to them, are we? It was safer to just keep moving. I heard stories, though. I always just thought they would be bigger.”

“I think they are farther back. This is a range of them. It’s said that Jordan created this place to house his children. It’s why so many of them live here. Some of the ones closer to the port are small but the farther back you go, the bigger they get,” Vashti said. 

Aze nodded. She looked over to where Tyrion was bending into the lava to help pull a girl out.

“She’s not what I expected.”

“I didn’t expect anything,” Vashti confessed. 

“Well, you don’t care about people. Not until they’re right in front of you, at least,” Aze said with a small laugh.

“What does that mean?”

“It means you don’t bother to picture people in the future because it doesn’t matter to you. Only the truth matters. You can’t see the truth in a contemplation,” Aze explained.

Vashti smiled. “I like that. Yes. I’d rather see the truth of a person.” 

Aze dared to lean on her and was rewarded with the warmth of her partner’s skin, still very much alive. They watched the sun sirens climb from the lava in silence, waiting for their verdict. 

“SHE’S a piece of work,” Tyrion commented as she hauled a young man from the lava. He shook out his hair and blinked at her but she shook her head and ushered him over to the others they’d already gotten out. 

“I know she seems it but she’s not wrong,” Esher replied.

“You trust her?” she asked skeptically.

Esher looked back. Aze had her hand on Vashti’s shoulder, a small smile on her face.

“I do. With Aze there, at least. I think she’d kill me if I was alone with her for too long,” he said with a smirk.

“You’re infatuated. Whatever happened to ‘love kills’?” Tyrion asked sharply. 

“I don’t love her. I don’t even like her most of the time. But we’re alike. We share an ideal,” he said.

“An ideal?” 

“Taking back what’s ours,” he said.

Tyrion laughed slightly as he helped her pull out yet another young woman. There were only the strong at the front of the range. Those who could bait the hunters away from the children. They would help her decide what to do.

“What’s ours?” she asked. “Pray, tell me what that is. Because I think nothing is ours.” 

“This land. It is ours. It was made to be ours,” he said.

“She’s been filling your head with stupid notions, brother,” she snorted. 

“She’s right,” he said more firmly. He pulled the last woman from the lava and turned to Tyrion. “Tell them and you’ll see.”

“I think you’re putting too much faith in your painted siren. Is it because she’s so beautiful? Because I don’t think she’s interested, if that is any indication,” Tyrion said, gesturing to Aze leaning on Vashti’s shoulder.

“Women lie with women, Tyrion,” he said, his chin lifting. “And I don’t want her like that.”

The second half was a lie he didn’t bother trying to defend. It wasn’t what mattered in the moment anyway. Tyrion acknowledged that with a jerk of her chin. She turned back to her people. They were all crusted with lava and thin but they stared back with bright eyes, each one as angry as the next. Perhaps Vashti had a point.

“This woman,” Tyrion said, gesturing to Vashti, “Helped my brother get back up here. She killed the guards and the hunters and even the ice children sent to leash us. She proposes that we pull everyone from the range and blow the volcanoes. Flood the city with lava. Take it as our own. She proposes that we run the port and keep this land for those like us.”

“That’s suicide,” one woman said.

“It could work if the hunters are gone,” a man said. 

“They come back! They always do!” someone cried. Tyrion waited as the murmurs in the group got louder. Finally, she put her hands up. 

“We’ll vote. We’ll need all of us to blow the volcanoes. Those in favor?”

It took a moment but then, all of their hands raised. There was always hope in people, Tyrion knew that. Her mother had had it. Her father. Even her brother, that fervor in his eyes. It didn’t surprise her. Given just a sliver of hope, they would jump. It was a slim chance that they would win. That the hunters wouldn’t take back the land. But they had to try. She knew they did and with her friends’ confirmations, she nodded. “Well, alright then.” 

THEY didn’t do it that evening. The sun sirens wanted to rest and wash, all of them delighted by Aze’s ability to make pools of water out of nothing. They would pull the others from the range the next day. Vashti leaned back, toes in her own personal pond, and watched the sirens wash. 

“Hope is a strong medicine, isn’t it?” she mused.

Esher chuckled slightly. “I’d say so. Tyrion’s still skeptical but they want to try.” 

“All people want is hope. We share that trait with humans. But this will work. If they can blow the range and burn down that port and even some of the homes on the other side, they’ll be free to move about while it flows. The longer they keep it flowing, the better off they’ll be. Once it cools, the humans can cross it. They’ll have to ready for that.”

“They?” Esher asked, a cocky smile on his face. Vashti poked him with the tip of her nail. He hissed.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve already asked you to join us,” she said.

“Yes, but you weren’t assuming before,” he replied.

“I’m assuming now,” she said.

He leaned back on his hands and sighed. “I hated this place growing up. I thought I was coming back here to find Tyrion. Maybe die in these pits like all of those before me.”

“Is that a no?” she asked.

“I’m getting there. Shut up,” he said without looking at her. She huffed and he grinned. “I thought you were insane. Gods, I still think you are. But somehow what you did worked. I’m here and Tyrion is unhurt and they’re going to try to keep Latva. Part of me wants to stay and see it. I grew up here. I don’t think I ever stepped foot into the port. I’d like to see it run by our kind. But…”

Vashti sighed loudly. “If all of this was just to say yes-”

“Shut up!” he laughed again. “Yes. I’m going to go with you. If only to see what’s going on with you two.”

“Learning something, are you?” Vashti asked.

That wasn’t what he meant and they both knew it but he only chuckled. “Maybe. Neither of you are shy.”

Vashti stood. Aze was laughing with one of the young men in the pool of water and she wanted to be beside her. She didn’t ponder that thought for too long but she followed it. Syria had always taught her to follow her whims. It hadn’t led her astray yet.

_ They still need to blow the volcano. _

_ Oh my love, just say it. _

_ You were right, my dear. You were right.  _

IT was a beautiful morning and it was the first in a week that Vashti didn’t wake with Aze in her arms. It felt like a loss but she shook it off to pray. She would need both Syria and Jordan to accomplish what she wanted in Latva. It was not a day to miss a prayer. Tyrion was awake as was Esher and Aze. Esher woke some of the other sirens with light murmurs. When Vashti looked at him quizzically he said, “they need to see it.”

She had never minded a captive audience. Even without all of her jewelry, she was still stunning and as the light crested over the range it played off her golden shoulders as her fingers traced her tattoos.

_ Darling Vashti. _

** _We got this far. I need your help to do the rest._ **

_ You don’t. You’ve got them, my dear. You’ve done it. Your gift was meant to entice you. Keep you occupied and give you a little fun. This is beyond what I’ve asked of you.  _

** _Would you like me to stop?_ **

Syria laughed.  _ No. No, my dear. Though I am interested in that Oasis born you’re keeping in your bed.  _

** _Now is not the time._ **

_ There’s never a good time to care, darling. And yet you do it. Has she softened you? She was right. Before this you would have let my gift die for his missteps.  _

** _Can I count on you and Jordan to help us burn this city?_ **

_ So serious! Yes, darling. Yes. He’s agreed. And if this happens...if you take this city and you keep it, he will give your new friend more power. Will you lie with this one too, or is your soul exclusively hers? I wouldn’t mind either, dearest, as long as part of it is still mine. _

Vashti sucked her teeth in annoyance.  ** _We will burn the city today. Esher will go with me. He is worthy of the power. When it counted, he stood tall._ **

_ I’ll get my answers, darling. I am not one to give up easily…. _

Vashti opened her eyes. “Well, neither am I,” she said aloud. The goddess laughed and then was gone. Vashti looked at the group who was watching her. 

“That’s how you pray?” One of the sirens asked, voice hushed.

“Do any of you pray?” Vashti asked.

They all shook their heads. It made sense to her. They were trapped and had no contact with their god. There were no temples in Latva, only a place where the blessed hid. Of course they didn’t want to give him anything. 

“She...talks to you?” one of them asked slowly. Vashti nodded. “How did you get that to happen?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t do anything. I just...spoke. Ever since I can remember I could feel her. She started talking to me first, I think. After I took a cattle iron to my father.”

One of the sirens sucked in a breath.

“Why did you do that?” Tyrion asked. Despite her want to be objective about Vashti, she could see why her brother was so enthralled. The woman was captivating. Vashti smirked and shrugged and Tyrion wanted to know more. If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up giving Vashti her army without asking the right questions.

“I don’t remember why. He probably annoyed me,” Vashti said.

“You...burned your father with a cattle iron because he annoyed you?” one of the sirens asked, shifting away.

Vashti shrugged. “My family was vexing. He probably deserved it.”

“Your parents weren’t blessed?” 

Vashti laughed slightly. “No. I’ve never met so many blessed created by other blessed. It must be a trait of those born of Jordan.” 

“But you got to live in a home?” one of the girls asked hungrily. 

Vashti nodded.

“Her home was huge. Her vault was filled with jewels and coins,” Aze added eagerly. Vashti flicked her harshly on the knee.

“You were rich? In Alyria? You lived up top?” one of the sirens cried out.

Vashti sighed. “Yes, but money means nothing to me.”

Aze had had this conversation with Vashti many times and she kept her mouth shut. Vashti’s opinions on wealth were radical. She didn’t want to be the one to explain them.

“You’re very decorated for someone who doesn’t like wealth,” Tyrion retorted.

Aze winced but Vashti didn’t move to attack the smaller siren. She only smirked and began to pull out the jewelry she kept in her bag. As she twirled the ring into her eyebrow, she spoke. “I enjoy being beautiful. Being vain is not the same as having wealth. Money and beauty are very different. You’re beautiful,” she told Tyrion who blinked in surprise. “Aze is beautiful. So is Esher. Do you have wealth?”

“We don’t look like you,” Tyrion said.

“But you could. If you wished to. It takes no wealth to pierce the skin. And ink isn’t hard to come by. If you wanted to look like me, it is possible,” Vashti shrugged. 

“I don’t,” Tyrion said shortly. 

“I know,” Vashti said with a brief smile. “Any other questions?”

“Once we blow the range...who runs things? Latva is run by the hunters. Without them…” the person trailed off. 

Vashti shrugged. “I’ll be gone. That’s for all of you to decide. You could make a council. You could pick a king or queen. You could rule by a committee. There are choices, once this is over. You have options.”

None of the sirens had ever had options before. They looked shocked by the prospect. Aze leaned forward on her elbows. 

“It seems like a lot, but it’s good. You get to decide how you want to live your lives. And run your home. You won’t need to stay up here anymore.” 

The words seemed to sink in when Aze said them. Eyes widened and one girl began to cry.

“We won’t need to stay up here?” she asked.

Vashti’s gaze softened. “No,” she said. “You won’t.”

She was doing what she never thought possible. She was freeing those like her. She wanted her army but watching them lean on one another and realize a world where they weren’t trapped was almost enough for her. 

Almost.

“If you do this, will you pledge yourselves to my cause? I will never try to take your city from you. I will never lock you away. I will allow you any freedom you wish. You only need to give me your promise that when I come back through here, you’ll stand with me against Alyria,” she said. 

“You want an army. Like Tyrion said,” one of the sirens said. Vashti nodded. 

“I won’t pretend to want anything less. Aze and Esher are my first step. Latva could be my second.”

“And if we say no?” Tyrion asked.

Vashti shrugged. “I’ve gotten you this far. All I can say is I won’t fight for you if you won’t fight for me. My goddess has Jordan’s ear. He could grant you more power. If he thinks you’re willing to help the cause. He could be swayed to protect more of you. But if you don’t show support…”

The sirens began to mutter and Aze jumped in quickly. “She’s already gotten you out of here. Who’s to say she can’t do what she says? Pledge, please. Help us when it counts and maybe this whole world could be ours. Imagine that. Being free. Not just in Latva but in all cities. All the way from Alyria to the sea.” 

Her words were like magic. Their muttering ceased and Vashti watched the light go back into their eyes. She looked at Aze in appreciation and the Oasis born winked. She’d meant every word but she could sell anything. It was one of her greatest assets. 

“Help us get the others out. Let the city burn. Then we’ll talk,” Tyrion said. Vashti smiled.

“Done.”

IT took the rest of the day to get the others out of the range. Aze felt her heart stop at each young child handed up out of the lava. They were all thin and all wild eyed at the sight of Vashti and Aze. They’d never seen anyone who looked like these women. Aze lifted a little boy to her hip and laughed as he dug his grubby fingers into her hair. Vashti was more serious and she studied each child, giving some food from her pack or a single coin for them to spin in the sun. 

She was watching for power. Esher and Aze knew that. Each child that passed her had a hand brushed through their hair. She wasn’t being kind. She was feeling. When they’d finished, the day was sinking away and she nodded.

“It can be done. You have enough power,” she told Tyrion.

“Good. The hunters will return soon. If this is to be done, it has to be tomorrow,” the sun siren said, hands on her hips. She’d dug out a dress hidden in one of the rocky crevices around the volcanoes and though it was dingy and off white, it did the trick. Vashti watched her move to help more of her people and smiled at Esher.

“She’s their leader. Whether she knows it or not,” she said.

He nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. She’ll get there eventually.” 

Vashti watched Tyrion some more. “Yes,” she said, “She will.”

THE next morning Vashti took stock of the sun sirens and their numbers. There was true power in the large group. Some were older adults who looked beaten down by their time spent in the range while others were young children, hugging parents’ legs anxiously. The age range was immense and Vashti smiled at it. Jordan was known to be consistent in families chosen for his blessing. It was easy to see in the group. She wondered idly why they continued to have children if their lives were so terrible but she didn’t want to dwell. A world without the blessed was not something she was willing to consider. Perhaps it was the gods themselves willing the unions. Or perhaps it was simply that with each family that died out, another was brought into the fold. 

Tyrion whistled as Vashti thought and the sirens all looked up. The ones who had been taken from the range the day before weren’t as clean as the others but they looked up just as keenly. 

“We’ve taken it to a vote,” Tyrion called in Latvian. Not all the sirens spoke the common tongue of Alyria. “And the majority rules that we should try to blow the range. We’ll light the volcanoes and let them run, burning those below and making the port ours. We shall take up the war drums and smite those who have pushed us down. We will no longer kneel!”

The crowd roared and Aze slipped her hand into Vashti’s. “You did this,” she murmured.

Vashti smiled. They were calling for blood. She had done this. Tyrion continued to shout in the strange tongue, Vashti understanding the gist even if the language was foreign.

“Could you teach me your tongue?” she asked Esher as the sirens broke to find the volcanoes they would be working with.

“I could teach you many things with your tongue,” he joked.

She flicked the bar in her tongue on her teeth and smirked at him. “Oh, I doubt that.”

He flushed and nodded. “Yes, I can teach you my language.”

She shrugged, passing him with her shoulders back and the smile still on her face. “Very good.”

The sirens got into place as Vashti took Aze’s hand. 

“We won’t be staying down here,” she told Tyrion. 

“You don’t want to watch all your hard work?” the smaller woman shot back. She’d expected Vashti to go with them. To watch the port city burn.

“Aze can’t,” Vashti explained. Tyrion looked down at their entwined hands. She couldn’t understand them. They seemed like lovers yet Vashti showed no signs in her speech that it was so. Yet here she was, offering to walk away from all she’d done for one woman. 

“And you’ll wait with her?” Tyrion prodded. Vashti didn’t blush. She didn’t look away. She only nodded.

“We’ll go higher up where the heat won’t hurt her. We’ll still see it. We’ll come down when it’s cool,” she said.

Aze looked at Vashti with what could only be called devotion. It might have been love but it bordered on hero worship. Tyrion wondered what her brother was getting himself into but she kept silent. 

“Very well,” she said when the silence had stretched too far. “If this works, we’ll owe you.”

“Your allegiance, I hope,” Vashti replied, turning to lead Aze away. 

Aze herself was surprised that Vashti wasn’t going to help the sirens in their conquest. When she’d first stated that she would be waiting with Aze, the Oasis born had tried to argue but Vashti heard none of it. As they walked up the range to a part where the lava wouldn’t hit them, Aze asked again.

“Why aren’t you with them?”

They were far enough away from the others that Vashti could answer freely.

“They need to do this on their own. If I help them, it will always seem like a sand siren led them to victory. If I’m up here, the victory is theirs. That’s what they need. They need to win on their own terms. I only gave them the idea. Latva is theirs. Not mine.”

“Don’t you want to rule?” Aze asked. It had come up before. Vashti’s thirst for more power.

“I don’t want those like us to be lesser. They aren’t lesser to me. Not to you or to one another. I want to unite our kind and rule through trust and peace, not through fear. They can do this on their own and they can run this country on their own. They only needed the push,” Vashti said.

Aze marveled at the woman. Vashti was many contradictions in one. She was cruel. Effortlessly so. But yet she was kind to those she thought deserved it. Her kindness wasn’t soft or gentle but it was absolute when it came. Vashti treated her own good nature as if it were fact. As if the things she did were obvious and the only answer. She did everything that way but it was the nicer acts that Aze wondered about. To the sirens it looked as if Vashti was being good to Aze and to Aze it looked as if Vashti was being good to the sirens. To Vashti, it all looked logical. Perhaps it was. Aze shook her head as Vashti rolled out her sleep mat for them to sit on. They were overlooking the range, though they couldn’t see all the volcanoes below them. The port was a speck in the distance.

“I would have liked to hear them scream,” Vasht said to herself.

Aze shivered. Vashti’s hand was soft in her own, at odds with the cold words.

“Do you truly hate them so much?” Aze asked.

“Humans? Yes. They are terrible things. Not loved by the very gods who created them so they hunt those who are. They have destroyed us. Made our kind feel lesser when we should be rulers. I hate every one of them.”

“What if they bow?” Aze asked.

Vashti paused. “If they bow….I would accept their defeat. If they were to agree to our rule, then yes, they could live. But not Latva. It needs to burn. It’s the start of a new world and fire is cleansing.” 

Aze nodded. It was the most she could hope for. Vashti was unwavering in her beliefs. Knowing she would accept a human who bowed was enough to make her relax. One city burning was better than the whole world. Around them the volcanoes began to rumble. Vashti smiled.

“Look at them, welcoming a new world.”

THE port was quiet. It had been since the ice children had fallen. The few guards left had run back to their families. They’d sent a messenger to Alyria, asking for help but it would take weeks for it to come. In the deafening silence, they all heard the telltale rumble of the volcanoes.

Vashti had thought of the fact that the people would flee. She’d gone down into the city the night before and laid her traps. It was easy for her to dip pits and cover them over with sand to make it look as if they weren’t there. She’d made the entire entrance to the city a death trap and she smiled to herself as the shrieks reached them.

Aze watched, her eyes widening as the first to flee, women and children mostly, fell into the pit. Vashti smiled and Aze felt nothing. The children were what bothered her. Children were just that. What they’d learned had come from their parents and nothing more. She knew Vashti had a point. That children grew into adults and adults were the ones who hurt them but it still felt cruel. A baby’s wail reached her ears just as the first of the lava burst from the volcano. 

A single volcano would have been enough to bury Latva. The entire range would destroy everything that was built there. The sirens didn’t care. They blew each one with glee and smiled as the lava flew and flowed down towards the city that had spurned them. 

The people who hadn’t fallen into the pit had nowhere to go. The lava was coming quickly but there was nowhere to run. The lava was in the water just as it was on land. They were trapped and those in the pits screamed in desperation. Vashti’s eyes glowed in the light of the suns and the golden liquid as it flowed. Aze watched her as it hit the town.

The screams lasted longer than she’d thought they would. She turned her face into Vashti’s arm, inhaling the scent of the woman beside her. Vashti grounded her, above all odds, and she focused on that as the people below them died.

Vashti couldn’t look away. The lava was red and gold with rolling chunks of black and it swallowed even the ocean as it flowed. Below her, the sun sirens stood in it, some on their parents’ shoulders so they wouldn’t sink under it. They could withstand the heat. Most of them could move the very core of the Earth if they wished to. Syria had come through and in return, Vashti had as well. The gods would be celebrating, she was sure of it. 

The lava flowed for most of the day even after the people had stopped screaming. Those in the pit would be preserved, Vashti knew. She planned to leave them there for the Alyrian guards to find. A warning for anyone who dared to cross into Latva now. The sirens waited until mid afternoon to let the lava cool and it was then that Vashti took Aze’s hand and led her back down. 

“Vashti, I’m not like you. Are you sure…?” she asked.

“Sure of what? You’re more powerful than me. Than any single person here. I’m sure of that,” Vashti said quickly. 

“Are you sure of me staying with you?” Aze asked, hating herself for saying it but needing to know all the same. Vashti stopped moving.

“What?” she asked in surprise. 

“I'm not like them. Don’t you want those of your own powers?” Aze asked. 

“Yes. But I also want you,” Vashti said. Aze’s heart pounded at the words. She didn’t want to show her hope so she looked down. “You’re strong and you help us show a united front.” Aze closed her eyes. That was why. Of course that was why. “But, I’ll confess, I’m also selfish. I don’t want to see you go,” Vashti added and Aze’s head shot up.

“You don’t?”

“I’ve...come to rely on you,” Vashti said. “Syria says I should keep you, as well.”

Normally, hearing that the goddess wanted it would be enough to make Aze roll her eyes but in this case she saw it for what it was: a tactic meant to distract Aze. Vashti wasn’t good to announcing her feelings. She didn’t like them. They were messy and illogical in a world that she saw in black and white. Telling Aze that she cared was too hard to do without the crutch of the goddess. Aze found that she didn’t mind. She’d been with Vashti for months and now, she’d been lying with her for a week. She wouldn’t be leaving. It almost didn’t matter why. 

Aze cocked her head towards the destroyed port. “Come on,” she coaxed. Vashti followed. She didn’t think about what that meant. 

TYRION and Esher were the first to head down to the now silent town. The others followed but it felt like their victory.

“She didn’t stay out of the fight just because of the god born, did she?” Tyrion asked, sounding grudgingly impressed.

Esher shrugged. “Probably not. She’s not a kind person but...she knows how to make people feel good. This was good but if she’d been here…”

“She’s made you think more,” Tyrion laughed. “I can say I like that about her. You were always impulsive. Maybe she can beat that out of you.”

“Ouch,” Esher complained but he did it with a smile. 

“You’re going to leave with her,” Tyrion said. 

Esher nodded. “I need to see this through.”

“I assumed as much. I’d hoped you wouldn’t come back here. When I heard a siren had been freed, I’d hoped it was you and that you’d be smart enough not to come back. I’m...glad you did. No matter how dumb it was.” 

“I’ve given you a whole city. A country, if it works out. I don’t think it was dumb,” he said.

“No, I suppose it wasn’t. But I still think you’re an idiot.” 

“I’m your brother. If you didn’t think that, I’d be surprised,” he retorted. She laughed and hooked her arm through his.

“I think I’ll like this new world,” she said.

“Yes,” he said, “Me too.” 

LATVA as it had been was gone. Buildings were buried in hardened lava and the pit Vashti had made was sealed over. She stood on it, a grim smile on her face. Aze shivered but said nothing. The sirens were shocked. Their silence seemed to echo across the range until one siren giggled. She poked the hard ground with her toe and began to dance. They knew she was dancing on the graves of hundreds of people. Women and children and fathers and those who’d had no title but held lives. Still, it felt like freedom. For the first time in any of their lives they could stand in the port. They could walk the streets and even destroyed as they were, they were now their streets. As Vashti looked at the pit, one of the sirens knelt in front of her. Vashti blinked in surprise.

“I vow that I will fight with you,” he said. “When you return and you call on us, I will be there.”

The other sirens nearby paused. Aze held her breath as another knelt. Soon, all of those around them were kneeling. They murmured their vows and suddenly, a chorus of sirens vowed to stand with her. Vashti smiled and Aze held in tears. Vashti had done it. She’d done what she’d come to Latva to do. It seemed impossible. It had seemed so far away when they’d reached the gates. Vashti approached Tyrion who knelt beside her brother, and took the girl’s hands.

“I’d like for you to lead them. If they agree. With your vow I will make my own, but I want to recommend this first. You should lead. You’re meant for it.”

Tyrion looked up at her. “I...I would like to lead.”

“What’s your vow?” Esher asked, knowing the others wouldn’t. They feared her in the way they feared the gods. 

“I will not take your leadership from you. We are equals. No one here, not one, is less than another. We’ll build our world on that. You and me and the others like us...we will build our world like that. The only ones who are lesser are below our feet,” she said.

Aze shivered as the sirens seemed to burn with the fervor Vashti had. Vashti had a gift. Aze didn’t know if it was a terrible one or not. She watched them watch Vashti and knew that though Vashti would never go back on that vow, they would follow her until they died. Even if she got them killed. They stared at her as if she herself were a goddess. It was the same way Aze looked at her. Aze blinked and stepped back. 

She had given herself to Vashti. It had been so easy. It was just serving. Just another way to kneel. That wasn’t what she wanted. She shook her head slightly and began to walk back up the hill into the range. She knew the sirens wouldn’t follow. Not anymore. Not unless they had to. They would kneel to no but Vashti and Syria got exactly what she wanted. A place at the head of the gods. She would be a leader. After all, the goddess who brought the leader of the new world to the forefront deserved it. Aze shook her head and snorted. She’d been so stupid. 

She started to run up the hill, nearly tripping on her long skirt.

“Aze!” a voice cried from behind her and she stopped. Vashti. The woman’s voice confused. Aze didn’t turn. She closed her eyes tightly. “Aze?”

“Go back to your people,” Aze said quietly.

“You’re my people, too,” Vashti said cautiously. 

“How much of this is so that you and Syria can have people at your feet? You’ve got an adoring public now. You don’t need me,” Aze said.

Vashti looked at the back of the woman she’d come to trust. She worked the ring in her lip with her tongue. 

“It might have started like that but it isn’t anymore,” Vashti said.

“It isn’t?” Aze asked, barking a laugh. “Of course it is! I know that’s what you want. And I understand. You’ve never lied to me about it, which I appreciate. I just...I thought I could be okay with it and I’m not. I don’t want to be some prize you won for your goddess. I don’t even love my own father. I can’t promise that to Syria.” 

“No, it is part of it. With everyone else,” Vashti said haltingly. 

Aze turned, her arms tight around herself. She shook her head. “Don’t. Don’t you dare lie to me.”

“I’m not. I never have and I never will. I don’t care if you don’t praise Syria. I don’t care if you never kneel or pledge loyalty or even fight. I just…” Vashti groaned in frustration, catching her tongue piercing on her teeth. 

“Tell me,” Aze said. She didn’t dare hope. She didn’t dare breath. 

“I can’t say what you want to hear,” Vashti said quickly. It was the truth. Love was a foreign thing. A taboo concept she didn’t dare look too deeply at. “But I can say...it isn’t about that. For them, maybe it is. Maybe it’s so Syria can sit at the head of the gods table. Maybe it’s so she can have a queen above all the other gods. Maybe it’s some vain idea of mine. I couldn’t say. But I can say for you, it isn’t about that. You were the first person who could stand me. You laughed when I spoke. You helped me. And when I saved you I used favors I didn’t know I had to keep you alive. If you don’t want to kneel, fine. I’ll kneel.”

Vashti dropped to her knees and Aze’s hand covered her mouth. “Vashti…”

“No. You’re a god born. You’re pure power. But that’s not all. You are my only true friend. The only person I want beside me when I do get my throne. You will never be below me. You’ll be beside me. Above me, if you so wish it. Tell me, Aze of Oasis, what do you want? I’ll find it. I’ll hunt it to the very ends of this Earth for you. This is not about Syria. It’s not about your father or your blood. It’s about you.” 

“Vashti…” Aze couldn’t find the words. She stepped closer, reaching out and grabbing Vashti’s shoulders. She tugged and Vashti stood. “I don’t want you to kneel. I want us to be standing. Together. I want to stay here. I won’t be another soul for your goddess to count but I will be here. For you.”

For the first time in her life, Vashti ignored her goddess’ call. She blocked out the musical sound of Syria’s voice in her head and nodded. She pulled Aze to her and kissed her hungrily. When Aze keened into her mouth, she pulled back, keeping the woman in her arms. 

“Standing beside me, then,” she said. Aze nodded, eyes hot. “Or lying next to me,” Vashti continued. Aze nodded more vigorously. “Or between my legs,” Vashti purred. Aze pulled on her shoulders, her right hand sliding down to clasp Vashti’s own.

“Let them celebrate there,” Aze said throatily. Vashti laughed and followed. Aze was the only person she would follow. Ignoring the siren call of her goddess, Vashti let Aze lead and she regretted nothing. 

_ She is ignoring you. _

_ She’ll come back. She always does. _

_ Pray you didn’t bet on the wrong creature, my dear. Pray, or all of this will fall apart. _


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The city watch gets to Latva and Vashti gets the sirens to side with her.

BY the time the message reached Alyria, Latva was burning. Latva was a small country and was run by a committee of hunters. Such a rule was only allowed because of the trade deals the hunters created and the Alyrian Council was vocal about that as they argued what to do.

“That siren Hodge was looking for, did he ever find it?” one man asked. 

Breddick Hodge quivered outside the chambers. He had not found the siren and he suspected just what the Council did: that the siren had gone back for revenge. They had no way of knowing that Latva had burned. That the city was buried beneath cooling lava and that the sirens of the range had taken control. The homes beyond the range had been razed and any human that had lived in Latva was either dead or in hiding. They had no knowledge of the burning ships or the system the sirens had put in place. They only knew that a city they had an investment in was under attack. So they did what came naturally.

“Breddick Hodge, you will lead your men and a team of sand sirens into Latva. You will apprehend these lost sirens and restore order to the country. If you cannot fulfill this duty, you will be removed from duty and banished to the lower levels of this city. Do you understand?” 

Breddick nodded under the scrutiny of the Council.

“We’ve assembled the team you are to take with you. Each man has a reason to be there. Do not question our decisions. Bring back the sirens, Hodge.”

Breddick knew the threat dangling in the air was a real one. He nodded even more quickly and fled. He had sirens to catch. There wasn’t a moment to lose. 

TYRION handed Esher a pack of food and smiled at him. “Guess I’ll be seeing you,” she said.

He ruffled her hair. In the few days they’d spent in Latva, she’d begun to look healthier. The people had accepted Vashti’s suggestion that she lead them and she now walked around with a small, fiery crown over her head. Jordan had yet to speak to his new queen but she could feel his eyes. She patted her brother’s shoulder.

“Don’t die,” she said.

“Same to you,” he said.

Vashti was waiting on the path, Aze at her side. They would walk the two weeks through Latva which was now clear of people until they reached the border of Despori. The rocky, cavern filled country was a land of outlaws and the lost but it was where the blind blessed of Delana ran to and they were next on Vashti’s complicated list. It was no man’s land and that was exactly what Vashti wanted. She turned back, smiling at the waving sand sirens. Esher kissed his sister’s cheek and turned to go. This time he was leaving his home on his terms. He smiled to himself as he went. It felt good to be free. 

The path was uneven and it grew cold the farther they walked. The lava had seeped behind the range and in some spots they had to climb heaps of it but none of them complained. Esher had been given back his home and Vashti had found the first part of her army. Aze’s happiness was more quiet. She didn’t have grand ambitions. All she wanted was to be with the woman beside her. It was easy enough to be happy about that, even on the fresh graves of those in Latva. They walked and they walked until the road was a simple line of dirt they had to squint to see. 

“What happens if the guards come back?” Esher asked in the cool quiet.

Vashti sighed. She’d answered this question for him four times already and her patience was growing thin. 

“I told you. Tyrion and I came up with a plan,” she said.

“But you won’t tell me it,” he replied.

“No, I won’t. It’s between me and the new queen of Latva,” she said.

“That’s my baby sister!”

“And now she’s a queen. It’s no longer your job to take care of her. Let her do this. Don’t worry so much. I did exactly what I said, didn’t I? Don’t you trust me?” Vashti prodded. 

“I’d like to,” he grumbled.

“But?”

“But you don’t have a heart. That’s my sister. My little sister. It’s always my job to take care of her,” he said.

Vashti snorted. “She can do it herself. Just know there’s a plan and let it be. We’re too far away now to help her even if they did come.”

“That’s helpful,” he muttered. She grinned at him, looking more like a feral animal than a person. Aze laughed.

“Come on. Both of you. We have a long way to go and it’s just us. Slow down.” 

“You want to go to Despori then on to the Brisa wood and then what? Across the sea? What’s left? All the other countries are gone. You know that,” Esher said. They’d also discussed this before and Vashti rolled her eyes. 

“The god with no name has a home somewhere. We’ll find it. We’ll follow the trail of ice to its home and then we’ll convince them to join us,” Vashti said.

Esher snorted just as he had when she’d first told him her plan. “That’s suicide and you know it. They hunt us. They hate us. Their children have no souls.”

“You think they’re born that way? Dead inside? I don’t. I believe there’s more there. I believe they can be swayed. Perhaps they don’t know what they will find here. Maybe they don’t know why they’re taken. Maybe they’re just as hunted as we are. We won’t know until we get there,” she said.

“But first we have to get through all of this,” he said, gesturing across the open space in front of them.

Vashti nodded. “Yes. We do. So keep walking.” 

And they did. They walked until the cold got to be too much and they dug through their packs for the furs Tyrion had made them take. They walked until even the small clusters of houses were out of sight. They walked into mist and away from the warmth of their past homes and they didn’t stop until they hit the rock wall separating Latva from Despori. It had been two weeks. Two weeks of Aze and Vashti huddled for warmth at night. Two weeks of bickering and cautious conversations about their pasts. They were closer by the time they reached the wall and Vashti leaned into Esher almost without thought, his body heat enough to stop her shivers. They stopped there.

“This is it,” Aze said.

“We weren’t planning on turning back,” Vashti said before Aze could say it.

“No, but it’s still true. We cross here and we’re really doing this,” Aze said. 

“We were already doing it,” Vashti said. Aze ignored her to level her gaze at Esher. He’d spoken of Tyrion often in the two weeks they’d been together. Seeing her again had opened the flood of feelings he had about family. He hadn’t spoken of the gods or of his childhood but his stories always held his sister. This was his last chance to go back to Latva and help his people rebuild. He turned to look over his shoulder then, with a heavy sigh, nodded.

“Let’s go.” 

TYRION heard the war horns of Alyria and smiled to herself. She and Vashti had come up with a plan. She was ready and she nodded to the sirens near her. The drums began to beat and she stood, the crown above her head blazing. 

“Praise Jordan,” she murmured as flames crawled up her arms. “Help us keep our home.” 

The sirens ran to protect what they had made theirs and the soldiers had no idea what was coming.

BREDDICK sent his best men in first. That was a mistake. He hadn’t known what to expect but it wasn’t a wall of lava and no hunters or ice children in sight. It certainly wasn’t a collected and calm group of sirens spitting fire at his mortal men. He watched the first line go down and quickly thought of what could be done.

They’d made it to Latva in record time, using the sand ships the Council shipped goods in. It had cut the usual travel time in half. It seemed like even that shortened trip wasn’t enough to give them the advantage. One siren laughed as a man went down screaming. This was what the temples were meant to prevent. This was what was supposed to have stopped. He watched as his men died and as the sirens praised a god of war for the blood on their hands. 

He was in over his head. The Council hadn’t dreamed this would be the outcome. Two rogue sirens didn’t usually make it that far and they certainly had never left such destruction in their wake. He took a deep breath and tried to regroup.

ON the path overlooking the city, Tyrion smiled grimly. Vashti had been right. Alyria had sent not only guards but sirens. She’d told Tyrion that they relied on their brainwashed citizens and that she should expect to see some sirens to come subdue the ones that had gotten away. Tyrion nodded to her people.

“Let the sirens through,” she said.

“Are you sure?” one of the other sirens asked. They’d known the plan but in the face of the reality, they were unsure. 

“I am. Let them through. Vashti will deal with them. Kill any humans who try to pass but if the general goes…” Tyrion waited for them to recite the plan.

“Then allow him through with the sirens. Of course,” the siren hurried off the spread the word. Tyrion nodded. She trusted her people. She moved farther into the range to wait for them to pass. She had one more duty to fulfill if she wanted to live up to her promise. Vashti had freed her. This was the least she could do. She waited alone, at the edge of the range, for the sirens and their holders to reach her. 

“I want the sirens to go in next,” Breddick told his men. “We’ll go with them. The rest of you will follow. Camden, you stay at the head of the unit. Keep the men mixed in. They’ll protect us. The rest of you, trail us. Take out what you can as we go through.”

The guards nodded and formed up. They moved between the sand sirens who were demure and silent as they watched their hands. They wouldn’t use their abilities until they were told they could. They had been trained to listen to their handlers. None of them looked up unless they were asked to move.

The sirens of Latva felt sick looking at the sand sirens. They knew what they’d been told to do and they would do it even if they ached to free their brethren. Vashti had been right. Their world was unfair. It was time for that to change. They knew that Vashti had asked them to allow them through so they did. The guards huddled in the middle of the sirens and those of Latva snapped their fiery whips at their heels, laughing as they crossed into the city.

Breddick watched the city go by, wide eyed. It was gone. They were walking on hardened lava. All he could see that was left of the port was the roofs of some of the higher buildings. They had destroyed it.

“Sir…” one of the guards trailed off.

“No one will want to come back here,” another whispered. “Even if we succeed.”

“We will succeed. We have no choice,” Breddick said firmly. In his mind, that was the truth. They had no choice but to win. No choice but to find the lost sirens and return them to the city. If they could do this, there was no telling what they were up to. 

“The city is dead, sir,” the first guard said. 

He looked at the sirens around him. They were a distinct contrast to the the sun sirens whooping and flicking flames at them. They blocked the offending fire but didn’t move to attack. They hadn’t been told to.

“We’ll get these rogue sirens back to the temple and they’ll be fine,” Breddick said, wishing he believed the words he was saying. “We’ll get them right again.”

“What if they aren’t wrong?” a laughing sun siren called. Breddick winced. He’d thought they couldn’t hear him but as they mocked, he pushed forward, his ears burning. 

“They’re letting us through sir, but they’re cutting off behind us,” Camden, his second in command said from the front. He was looking back at the way they’d come and could no longer see the road.

“The others will cut through,” Breddick said with more confidence than he felt. Camden nodded, unsure but unable to do anything but press forward. Around him the sirens watched their feet and he felt sick. He kept walking, hoping that their destination was worth the loss of their men.

Behind them the guards couldn’t cut through. The sun sirens had paused in their attacks when the temple sirens had begun to walk through Latva but as soon as they were clear, they continued. Men died in flames, howling for gods who would only laugh at them. The sirens cried out with glee at their deaths, each one a gift to Jordan and Syria. They thanked Vashti for freeing them in blood. They had done what was asked. They’d allowed the temple sirens through and as a prize, they took the guards who had turned a blind eye to their abuse for years. It was brutal and by the time the last few guards fled, the lava hardened ground was slick with blood. 

They looked up the hill to where their new queen stood and waited for her to return. There was one more step before it would be over. In the silence of death, they waited.

TYRION had killed many people in the last few weeks. She’d watched Latva die and hadn’t batted an eye. She’d led the slaughter of the hunters on the trade ships and stolen their goods before burning them alive on their own ships. Now she’d allowed the deaths of the Alyrian guards and would walk barefoot in their blood when she was finished. 

She wasn’t sorry. 

For the first time in her life, she’d prayed and she’d swear that Jordan had answered. Not in words like Syria to Vashti but in a warmth down her spine. She’d offered him those deaths and hadn’t looked back. She wouldn’t now. Vashti had been right. It had taken her time to see it, but the world belonged to them. If they had to bathe it in the blood of the humans they would do it. She would see to it. She was alone on the path but the cries of war had fallen quiet. It was only a matter of moments now. The sirens and the head of the city guard would be there and she would deliver her message, just as Vashti asked her to do. 

It didn’t take long for them to reach her. The sirens were demure. Broken by what they’d been taught. Tyrion shook her head. It wasn’t her job to try and help them even if she wished to. A week with Vashti had given her hope and now she wanted to share it. But she’d do what she’d been asked. She smiled as they approached.

“What happened here?” Camden asked. 

“Camden!” Breddick snapped but Tyrion smiled. The flaming crown on her head flared.

“We’ve taken what is ours. Like our god meant for us. It’s been too long. Too long since I’ve stood in the sun for more than an hour. I had never seen the port before this week and do you know, I’d hoped I wouldn’t. That would have meant I was caught. I was being taken like my brother. The first time he saw the city was when they took him away to Alyria. He worked in the forge of a master who bought him. We are not the slaves. You are. I will not apologize for what you might have lost. It belongs to us,” she said.

Breddick stepped forward. “Why did you let us through?”

She looked him over. “She was right,” she murmured. “You’re the head of the watch. I have a message for you. She’s waiting. Like the wrath of Syria herself, she’s waiting. I’m to let you through but not without a warning. If you go, you will lose your city. It will fall because of your hubris. Know that if you walk past me, you are stepping into the lion’s den and we will not be merciful again.” 

“This was mercy?” Camden asked with a huff. Breddick shushed him with a hiss. 

“Why allow us through?” he asked instead.

Tyrion cocked her head. “Find out. If you must.” 

Breddick half expected more sirens to attack as they passed but Tyrion, young and bright with the light of Jordan, simply stepped aside.

Camden turned. “What is your name?” he asked her. 

She studied him for a moment. There was curiosity in his eyes. Something more than the hatred of the others. “Tyrion. Queen Tyrion of Latva,” she replied.

For a moment his head dipped and then they were moving. She watched them go. She’d given her warning. It was their own destruction that awaited them. She smiled. She was excited to see them fall. Finally, when they were nearly dots in the distance, she turned back to the port city and headed down the hill. 

IT became more and more apparent as the last of the guards walked beside the sirens that Latva was lost. The small communities beyond the range had been burned. Some homes had bodies, slumped and ashen, while others were empty, their valuables gone or strewn across the spaces. There was no blood, only ash and blackened wood, sometimes marred with the flash of white bone. The guards shivered as the land grew colder and the ghosts of the people before them seemed to cling to their feet. 

One guard, a nervous man named Eddy, poked Camden’s side. “I feel bad for them,” he said, jerking his chin at the sirens. 

In their robes, the sand sirens of the Alyrian temple shuffled along. In their time on the road they’d spoken only when they’d greeted the sun in the mornings and praised it at night. They didn’t converse. Didn’t look up. They didn’t do anything they weren’t asked to do.

“It’s called being blessed,” Camden pointed out.

“But it isn’t, is it? Cursed. They’re all cursed. The gods could do them a favor and just kill them now,” Eddy said.

“Don’t you visit the temples?” Camden asked. Eddy flushed.

“Yes. But only to pay my respects.” 

Camden nodded curtly. “What about the sun sirens we just saw? Are they cursed?”

“They’re rabid,” Eddy said sourly. “Rabid monsters. Once the Council hears of this they’ll send all the sirens we have to fix it. Latva will be ours again in a few months.” 

Camden wasn’t so sure of that but he only nodded. Eddy shifted. 

“I hate this damn country,” he muttered. On that, Camden could agree and he nodded more enthusiastically.

“No one will want to come back here,” Eddy said quietly. It was what they’d all thought but no one had said it aloud yet. “It’s dead.” 

Camden nodded again. 

“It’s all dead,” Eddy muttered. 

VASHTI woke with her head on Esher’s belly and Aze’s hair in her nose. They’d slept curled up together since their furs couldn’t keep them warm in the cold nights of the Despori caves. They’d crossed the border days prior and had only traveled a short ways into the country. Here, Vashti was cautious. There were places to hide and she knew very little about the people she was looking for. She had begun leaving jewels and coins out in the hopes of catching a thief but they were never there in the morning and she couldn’t seem to catch who had taken them. It would take time, she knew, but she didn’t dare push deeper into the range until the Alyrian guards and their sirens came.

She’d known they would come. It was the only thing Alyria knew to do. Send the blessed to kill each other. Keep them down and show them that the enemy was one another. But Vashti would change that. She’d told Tyrion what to do and she knew that the woman would do it. In her days with Esher’s younger sister she’d learned about her. Tyrion was what Vashti could have been. She hoped Jordan could see the potential as well as she could. Vashti could change the world. Tyrion could lead it, if she had the right support. 

Vashti had told Aze the truth. While the others might be half for her goddess, to give her more right to the throne of the gods, Aze herself wasn’t. Aze was Vashti’s. And Vashti herself felt no need to deal with the politics. She might rule them all one day but it wasn’t because she’d advocated for it. She was too impatient for such a thing and Syria knew it. She wanted only to see her justice handed down to others like her. She wanted to give freedom to those who deserved it and bleed dry those who didn’t. Aze had accused her of tricking those around her. She hadn’t meant to but she also didn’t mind if they believed. It made her work easier. 

Despori was depressing but she held onto the look on the sun sirens’ faces when they’d left. Hope and fervor. That’s what she was doing this for. In the cold and the mist and the silence, she remembered the faces of those she’d freed and she reminded herself of the prize.

“Oof,” Esher sighed as he woke. “I thought two women on me would be a fantasy but…”

“Don’t finish that thought,” Aze groaned. She sat up. “When are we moving on? I hate this place. It feels as if the caves have eyes.”

“They do. Whoever lives here is watching us,” Esher muttered.

Vashti had heard this conversation each morning and usually she was quiet through it but this time she spoke. “We’re waiting for something then we’ll try to move farther in. I believe we’re too close to the border for them to want to find us.”

“What are we waiting for, then?” Esher asked.

“You asked me before what the plan was for Latva. Well, this is part of it. Aze, I’ve been asking a great deal of your abilities in the last few days. This is also why. I believe it will be soon. We’ll continue this course and when it’s done, we’ll move on. Despori is a vast land. There will be more to see and to find, I’m sure,” Vashti answered.

“Why won’t you tell us?” he demanded.

“Because you’ll think I’ve gone mad,” Vashti said simply. She rose from her sleep mat and began to put in her jewelry. 

“I already think that,” Esher replied. Vashti didn’t bother to respond to that. 

“Vashti,” Aze said softly. “Tell us.” 

“I told her to allow the sirens through. It was the only way the Alyrian Council would think to fix the problem. Probably sand sirens from the temple since we’re more evenly matched to the sun sirens. Plus they’ll have figured out I’m gone so it would benefit them to catch me. I told Tyrion to let them and their human guards through. Kill the rest, but allow them to come to me,” Vashti explained.

“Why?” Esher exploded. Aze sat in quiet contemplation on the words. Vashti did nothing without thinking it out first. She was meticulous, the only spontaneity she seemed to possess was in her physical relationship with Aze. Aze waited as Vashti fed the long, silver chain down from her lip to her belly button.

“Because I want to change them. I’ve been thinking. Attacking Alyria with an army of blessed will win us the city, yes, but what of the sirens there? What of the other blessed like us who are locked away? I don’t want to kill those who cannot be blamed for their abuse. Instead, I wish to turn them to our plight. I wanted Tyrion to let them through so I can speak with them,” Vashti said.

“You’ve had me casting faces over yours,” Aze said, suddenly understanding. “My mother, my tribesmen….”

“My father,” Esher added. 

“I want you to cast the goddess on me. When they come, I want them to see who they believe Syria to be. I want them to look their goddess in the face and know that she will free them,” Vashti said.

“That’s...insane,” Esher said.

“Which is why I didn’t tell you,” Vashti pointed out. 

“It seems impossible,” Aze said quietly. 

“It seems it, yes, but I wish to try. I don’t want to take my city back only to lose those who live in it. I couldn’t save them then but I might be able to now.” 

“So we wait?” Aze asked. Vashti nodded.

Esher blew out a sigh and looked up at the sky. It was overcast, as it always seemed to be in Despori. He missed the sun. The heat of Alyria was better than this bleak land. But he believed in Vashti. He had since she’d shown him what she could do. That wouldn’t change now. He nodded.

“We wait,” he echoed.

And they did.

IT took three more days for the sirens to reach the Despori wall. The guards were nervous but happy to be leaving what they’d now dubbed the land of the dead. The blessed of Latva had been thorough. They had seen no human life in their travels, making it feel like they were walking through a large cemetery. They’d stopped burying the dead they’d found. It had slowed them down too much. Each time they passed a burned house or family they moved on, even if the guilt ate at them. 

The sirens showed no signs of caring. They didn’t weep or flinch at the sights. With each new home the guards felt more uneasy and the blessed of the temple became more stoic. It unnerved the guards even more and it seemed that each night Eddy spoke of how unlucky they were and how he would mercy kill them if it wouldn’t end in his termination.

Camden was quiet during these talks. He’d kept his family pretty well hidden from the other guards but his daughter was blessed and he didn’t wish to draw attention to such a fact. While they complained loudly about the immune blessed they watched over, Camden studied them. The ones they’d brought were young. Handpicked students of the temple from the time they were babies. They had never lived outside its walls. They had been chosen because of that. Younger blessed held more strength which made them more unpredictable but those who had been raised on the teachings of the temple were reliable, even if they were less in control. They praised their goddess and received her love without testing the waters. 

He watched them. The dance the sun and sand sirens did to greet the morning was beautiful. It was the one time the sirens seemed happy. He clung to that. He’d kept his daughter out of the temple so far. She was educated there but he brought her home each day. She was a good child. One filled with life. Gods help him but he couldn’t bear to see that joy beaten out of her like it seemed to be out of her temple raised counterparts. Because of his job, he was able to bring her to and from but he knew many other children weren’t given that choice. 

So he listened. He paid attention to those around him and he stayed quiet. When they stopped at the marker for Despori, he sighed. 

“What is it, Camden?” Breddick asked.

Camden looked at his leader and shook his head. “Latva’s been destroyed, sir. Despori is a lawless land. What do you hope to find?”

“I will bring those sirens back,” Breddick said.

Camden nodded, looking unsure. Breddick had become increasingly manic about the whole hunt. Each day he reminded them of the murder in Alyria and who he’d been sent to catch. Vashti Valeria. She was the daughter of a Council member but still, she would die for crimes. Breddick was sure to mention that, too. 

“How would we get back through Latva? They didn’t let us through out of the kindness of their hearts,” Camden asked.

“What hearts?” of the the guards said sourly as he passed. Another snorted and nodded.

“We have ten men, sir,” Camden said more quietly.

“And 20 sirens,” Breddick said. “We  _ will  _ find them. Mark my words, son. They’ll hang for what they’ve done. Them and all those damned sirens with them.” 

Camden didn’t bother to reply. He simply crossed into Despori and hoped that Breddick hadn’t gone mad. He didn’t think they’d make it back to Latva, let alone Alyria. He was thinking that very thought when a whistle went through the wind.

VASHTI was wrapped in a fur, her right nipple poking out as she flicked the ring there and waited for Aze to confirm that the face she was wearing was right. 

“Could you stop?” Esher asked, watching her hand. “It’s distracting.”

“It’s the form of a woman, Esher, you can handle it,” Vashti replied with a yawn.

Aze cheered as the face she’d lain of Vashti’s yawned with her. “I think I have it! And Esher, they truly are spectacular, but it’s not new.”

Vashti had yet to wear anything resembling a dress. Aze had short tops in her pack as well as shift dresses and thin skirts as well as her furs. Vashti had turned down every one. As a result, her skin was always pricked with cold and her nipples, always on display with gold or turquoise jewels pierced through them, were always hard. It had distracted Aze as well but she could work out those feelings with Vashti herself. She would feel sympathetic to Esher if he didn’t spend all of his time leering. 

“I’m a man. It’s not like I have them on my chest as well,” Esher snapped back. 

“Oh please. You watch her enough!” Aze said.

“Jealous, spitfire?” he grinned, fire in his eyes. 

“Enough!” Vashti said sharply. “I am sick of this! You’ve both been at each other’s throats for days. We will move on soon but enough of this!” 

“He watches you like you’re meat!” Aze cried.

“And I enjoy it,” Vashti said, causing Aze to close her mouth in surprise. “Besides, we sleep nearly on top of him. We don’t need to antagonize him any more than we already are.”

Vashti had a point there and Aze shook her head. “Fine. It worked. Can we stop now?”

Vashti nodded. “Very well. Let’s take a rest. Esher? Walk with me?” 

Esher pushed off the boulder he was leaning on and followed her down the dirt path they’d found. 

“Your body is exquisite,” he said.

She looked up at him, eyes clear and serious. “Do you wish to fuck me?” she asked.

He snorted out a laugh only to realize she was serious. “Oh. Well. Yes.”

“It doesn’t deter you that I have chosen Aze as my companion? Or that I prefer the bodies of women?” she asked. 

He shook his head. “Um...no. It’s...it’s good. I’m sorry, are you offering?”

“I find you attractive,” she confessed. “Aze told me you were beautiful before I’d ever seen you. Of course you know this. Your form is flawless. I believe I can call you a friend and you’ve never lain with a woman. This will be a long trip. I would hate to deprive you of what you would have had if you’d stayed in Latva.”

“What makes you think I’d have lain with a woman there?” he asked in surprise. 

She tipped her head to look up at him. “I just told you why. Don’t push for compliments, it’s unbecoming.” 

“Right. Why?”

“I just told you. Really, Esher,” she clicked her tongue. 

“Yes, but I know you too, Vashti,” he said, her name slightly mocking on his tongue. “You never tell the whole truth. So why? Besides that.”

Vashti’s gaze flicked up to his. “You die in your dreams. Syria showed me. You are not free. Not yet. And I wonder if freeing your body, if taking something willingly given, would help you. You saw your people take their lives back. You stood in the heat and fire and walked out a prince but still, you dream of chains and ice. You need to break free. I am offering. I am willing. Take my body. As a free man and know I give it with eager acceptance.” 

Esher laughed in disbelief. “You...you expect me to lie with you because you’re some prize of freedom? Do you think so little of me?”

She blinked. “No. This is a gift.”

“Yes. It would be. And not one I’ll take this way. No, Vashti. The answer is no.” He was curt and he walked faster, forcing her to scurry to keep up.

“Did I offend you? I didn’t mean to,” she said.

He thrilled for a moment at how unsure she seemed. It wasn’t the nicest part of him and he shooed it away quickly. He turned, causing her to stop abruptly. 

“Aze is in love with you,” he said passionately. “In love. She lays her very soul at your feet. And you care for it. I never would have expected it. Now, here you stand, offering me what you give her out of care and joy, and think I won’t be offended by that? You are not mine, Vashti. You won’t ever be. I don’t want to bury myself in you simply because I haven’t before or because it might set me free. Don’t offer something when you don’t know how much it’s worth.” 

“I….” she trailed off. 

He laughed more kindly this time. “You are not a one time gift to break me of my chains. You have saved not just me but my people. My country. If I were to have you I would never wish to give you up. You won’t ever feel the same and I am fine with that. No. Thank you, but no.” 

She caught her tongue piercing on her lip and worried it before speaking. “I...I am sorry I offended.”

He threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled him into his warm chest. “It’s fine. Come on. Aze must be wondering where we went.” 

AZE was indeed wondering. Vashti had been watching Esher more lately. There was a calculation in the look as if she were trying to figure something out. It made Aze uneasy. The cream skinned god born knew she had no claim to Vashti. No one could lay claim to such a creature. Still, she fancied herself Vashti’s partner and it burned to see her go off with Esher.

Aze didn’t hate the man. He was very male, that much was true, and it made Aze cringe sometimes but it wasn’t terrible. She was simply jealous. As she tucked her furs more securely around her, she let herself know that. Vashti was monstrous. She had known that since the first time they’d spoken. Still, she was persuasive and enthralling. She was the adventure Aze wished for and she made Aze feel as if she were truly something special. That was more than she’d ever known before. She groaned and fell back on her sleep mat. Looking up at the sky, she hummed to herself. 

She hadn’t prayed once in her entire life. Vashti made it seem so easy but it still felt daunting every time Aze thought to try. Still, with the cloudy sky rolling above her, she considered it. She was still considering when a whistle traveled in the wind. She sat up. Vashti had said that some of those blessed by Brisa, who could take the form of the wind, sometimes traveled into Despori. The whistle sounded again. She bolted to her feet and ran.

Esher and Vashti were on their way back to their camp when Aze slammed into Esher’s chest. She bounced off and steadied herself.

“Aze? What is it?” Vashti asked.

“There’s a whistle. On the wind. I think it’s a warning,” Aze said breathlessly. 

“They’re here,” Vashti said.

Aze nodded. 

“Let’s go.”

The three rushed back to their camp. They were slightly off the main path through the caves but were close enough that they couldn’t be missed. Vashti kicked their things into the small cave they’d chosen and steadied herself. She had one chance to make this work. One chance to get them on her side. If she couldn’t, she’d lose her hold in Alyria. She truly didn’t want to hurt anyone like her. The blessed had already been hunted. They didn’t need to kill each other. She would if she had to, but she hoped her plan would work.

When people could be heard on the path, she placed herself in the middle. She knew how she looked. Furs wrapped around her shoulders, a white skirt covering her legs and her body adorned with jewels and tattoos. She was the opposite of a temple siren. She wanted them to see what she could be. They came into view, first three sirens then three guards. The pattern went on, though there were less guards than sirens. They stopped when they came to her. Aze was hidden in the cave, Esher with her. They’d already discussed this part of the plan. It was essential that they not be seen. Vashti needed to be viewed as alone. 

“Vashti Valeria I presume,” the first guard said, stepping out from behind the sirens.

“Breddick Hodge,” she greeted.

“You know me,” he said.

“My father never liked you,” she said with a smile. “He said you were weak. I must admit, I find that you’re stupid, Mr. Hodge, not weak. I wonder which is worse?” 

“Stupid to come with an army while you’re alone?” he demanded.

Her smile widened. Male arrogance and a touch of madness. She could work with that. 

“You don’t have an army. You left it in Latva. What you have is a group of temple sirens and some scared men. How long did it take you to cross Latva, Mr. Hodge? What did you see?”

She glanced at the guards as she spoke. Some shivered and others looked sick. 

“Your sunny friends will die for what they did. You’ll be last. So you can watch them all hang,” Breddick sneered.

Vashti chuckled. “This is...almost too easy. If you believe that, tell me, would you allow me a simple exercise? It involves your sirens.” 

“Yes,” Breddick said, eyes wide and wild, “To prove that it is where you belong.” 

“Sir, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Camden said, his eyes on the sirens. They were shifting and looking up. The quiet followers had never once moved without an order but something about this woman had woken them up.

“No! No, it’s fine! She does this and it proves our point! Then we can bring her back. She’ll hang, of course, but maybe the goddess will still save her soul,” Breddick rambled.

“But what about your soul, Mr. Hodge?” Vashti asked. 

Breddick ignored her. 

“It will be fine,” he said again. “Yes. She may speak to the sirens. Let them see what breaking out of the temple means. Madness is the only payment for not following the divine plan.”

Vashti inclined her head and stepped forward. She didn't care what the man said. What mattered were the young sirens in front of her. The guards all stepped back. Some were nervous, others hateful, but they were not why Vashti was there and she ignored them. The blessed in front of, the sand sirens of Alyria, were why she’d made this gamble. She was laying it all out on the dusty Earth for them, knowing that if it failed, she would need to kill them all and probably kill those left behind in Alyria as well.

_ Hold steady, sweet Vashti. They will see you…. _

Syria’s words were the confirmation she needed. She nodded, knowing Aze would throw her power at the move, and waited. 

At first there was only silence. One of the guards coughed. Only the sirens could see what Aze had done and they were watching. The silence was deafening and no one moved. But then a young girl fell to her knees. Slowly, the other sirens followed. They bowed, some whispering prayers while others looked up, tears in their eyes. 

“What do you see?” Vashti asked them. 

“Syria,” the first girl whimpered. Vashti knelt in front of her and touched her cheek.

“You’re so young,” she murmured. “When did you first go to the temple?” 

“I was only a year old. My mother sent me away. She said I was a monster,” the girl said.

Vashti nodded. “Mine too. I could not be sent away but they told me I was destruction. I was horror. Do you want to know a secret?”

The girl nodded, tears in her eyes. 

“We are monsters,” Vashti said, smiling when the girl’s eyes widened. “But our goddess loves us like that.” She let the words sink in, staring into the very soul of the child in front of her. 

She stood again. “How many of you were told you were wrong?” she asked more loudly. More of the sirens looked up, nodding or raising their hands slowly. “How many of you had that wrongness beaten from you? Had your will stolen? How many of you lost the goddess with each passing day?”

They were all beginning to nod, to look angry. Some had tears in their eyes. 

“Sir…” Camden trailed off. Breddick ignored him. “You are wrong! The blessed of Alyria are trained so they will give to the goddess! So they can better serve the people and their goddess.”

Vashti laughed. “And there it is. The people. Asked to serve the people. Who decided that the people deserved our servitude?” She walked in front of the sirens, hands clasped behind her back. “We were not blessed so we could serve the humans. We were not made to be degraded. To be sold. We were made to serve a higher power. One they can’t possibly understand. The goddess is proud of you. She wants more for you. She has watched your suffering and feared fixing it. But you’re here now and I’m here to offer you something more. Your master doesn’t believe you can break these chains. He thinks you’re too far gone. I don’t believe that. You, young one, what’s your name?”

The young girl blinked. “Beteste,” she said.

“How old are you?” Vashti asked.

“16,” Beteste said.

“How many men have bought you under the ruse of serving the goddess?” Vashti asked. It was a blunt question but the answer didn’t matter as much as the high color in some of the guards’ cheeks. Beteste raised her chin.

“I’ve lost count,” she said.

Vashti felt cold. “And when was your first?”

“Last year. On my birthday. I was sold to better serve the goddess. To give myself in her service,” Beteste said.

Vashti’s sickness was matched by Syria’s rage. The goddess had known but hearing it said aloud through her favored child enraged her. Vashti clenched her fist. 

“And how many of you had that same experience?” she asked. 

All of the sirens raised their hands. Camden felt more than uneasy, he felt sick. His daughter was being kept from this very fate. While the other guards looked away or looked ashamed, he looked at Vashti. Breddick had been stupid to allow her to speak. She was winning herself an army. She was winning Camden. 

“How many....of your guards have visited you?” Vashti asked, going in for the kill.

The blessed all turned and Camden knew then that he was safe but the men were not. They looked away or looked defiant. Not one of them was apologetic. Vashti’s lip curled.

“I’d say almost all, based on their faces. My darlings, there is more to life than this. There is more for you to live for. More to fight for. The goddess doesn’t think you’re wrong. Be monstrous. Destroy the things that have tried to destroy you. Kill them. Kill them all in true service to Syria,” Vashti said. 

Breddick laughed as quiet fell over the group.

“You see? You’re nothing! You’re all nothing! You serve us!” he cried frantically. 

Beteste moved first. She jumped to her feet, pulling sand from the sack of it all sirens kept on their hips. She could make anything from sand. She picked something simple. A wire. It was thin and sharp and she went after one man in particular. He shouted, his words garbled as she bore down on him. His words of honor, of respect, were a parody of the words Syria gave to Vashti. Beteste didn’t stop. No one dared to move. That wire, spun between her fingers, cut through his neck like butter. His words cut off as she sliced. She felt no resistance in his bones and in one moment, the world tilted. 

The guards and sirens alike watched his head slide from his body. A moment later his form thunked to the ground and all they’d ever known came to an end.

“He bought me. Once a week he bought me,” Beteste said through gritted teeth, her chest heaving. “And I wanted to die. Syria forgive me for being so blind.” 

Vashti stepped close to the girl and put her hand on her robed back. “She forgives you. She loves you. Take them. All of them, just leave me Mr. Hodge. I have a plan for him.”

Beteste nodded and this time she was joined by the others. It seemed each siren knew who the worst ones were and who should deal the killing blow. They beat the guards down only to step back and allow another to take the kill. It was quick and brutal. The guards had never been taught how to fight sirens. They always relied on others born blessed to hunt them. It was their downfall and Vashti watched with grim satisfaction as the sirens destroyed the men who had trapped them. Blood covered the rocky ground and most of the bodies were in pieces. The sirens had been well trained, their control turned against those it had been meant to protect. 

When they’d finished there was one guard left. Vashti cocked her head. “And this one?”

“He has a siren daughter. He keeps her out of the temple. He never visits us. We can’t kill him. He’s been kind,” Beteste said.

Vashti studied Camden who had fallen to his knees in the bloodbath but hadn’t lifted his sword. 

“Tell me, who will you side with? When my army reaches Alyria and you are given a choice?” she asked him.

He bent so his forehead touched the ground. “I will stand with you,” he said.

“And why should I believe you?” she asked. 

“My daughter was born like you. She is not a monster. She is chosen. She is loved. To give her a better life, one not marred by the temple, I will stand with you. I will do what you ask of me. To save my child, I will do anything,” he said. 

“You love your daughter,” she said.

“I do,” he replied, looking up at her.

She studied him for a moment. 

“I believe you. And your master?” she asked, tilting her head towards Breddick Hodge who was staring in stunned silence. 

“He hasn’t bought a siren,” Camden said.

“That is not nearly enough to prove innocence. Those in Latva were killed for far less,” she said. “But don’t worry. You’ve told me what I wanted to know. I will not kill him. He might want to do that himself when I’m done with him.” She stepped in front of Breddick.”You see, Mr. Hodge, we are not made to serve you. We’re not even meant to like you. This world is ours and you, sir, are a dying breed.”

Vashti clamped her hands on the side of his face, golden light pouring from her. She’d talked to Syria about this. It had been a fight but she was persuasive. The only way to truly torture someone who believed being blessed was a curse was to bless them. Let them see what they so desperately hated in themselves. It was cruel but it was exactly what Vashti thought Breddick Hodge deserved. He was a lawman and as such, couldn’t see past his instructions. She wanted to change that. So she burned his humanity away and replaced it with a blessing. 

_ I hope you’re right, dear one. My love is not a punishment and this man does not deserve it.  _

“He has two options,” she murmured as she worked to fill each crevice of his soul with her goddess. “He can either be miserable forever and know what it’s like to be enslaved, or he can join us. I think either works just fine.” 

Beteste, now covered in blood and calm, snorted. “The temple will be happy to have another recruit. They love it when we find older sirens. They think older ones are sneaky. They like to teach them the most.”

Vashti had once felt for the old priests. They too had been beaten as children. Ignored and taught to fear what they were. But they were too far gone to be saved and she knew it. There was no way to bring them back. She would need to kill the priests. She’d known that. Hearing of their perverse enjoyment only solidified it. When she was finished, she stepped back.

“He’s one of us now,” she said, though the others already knew. “You’ll bring him back with you. Make up any story that seems plausible, I don’t care. But he will reside in a temple until it’s time for us to rise.”

“We’re going back?” one of the sirens asked in surprise.

“We thought we’d stay with you,” another added.

Vashti cocked her head and after a moment, Esher and Aze joined her. Camden, who was still on his knees, looked up in surprise. He’d thought she was alone. It was rare to see blessed by different gods together.

“These are my companions, Aze of Oasis and Esher, blessed by Jordan. I don’t need an army to travel with me, I have them. What I need is for you to go back to Alyria. Pretend that Latva overpowered you. That you couldn’t beat their armies and that you never found me. Pretend Breddick went mad with his power. That he’s the reason all of his men are dead. Tyrion will let you back through. I need you to go back and bring the others in the temple to my side. And once you’ve finished that, I need you to do it in the other temples. I know how much you all come together. I need you to plant the seeds. You’ll be my army within the city and when it’s time, we’ll make them all pay.” 

The sirens nodded, murmuring to each other but it was Camden who spoke up. “What about me?”

“You are unforeseen,” Vashti said.

“Don’t kill him!” Aze said quickly.

Vashti smiled, not at all offended by words. “No, I won’t do that. He’ll be useful. A good portion of the Alyrian guard is dead. If this is played right, Camden could take Mr. Hodge’s place. He could build me a human army. People who will turn on their own when it comes to it. Would you do that, Camden? For your child?” 

Camden thought about his daughter and the world Vashti wanted to build. It didn’t seem to have much space for him in it but he thought that maybe that was okay. The world hadn’t treated those like his daughter right. It was time for them to have that. He bowed again. 

“Yes. Anything. For you, Your Highness,” he said.

Vashti smirked. “I like that. Yes. You’ll all return. You’ll infiltrate from the inside and you’ll make it so when I make it to the city, I’ll have help. Your daughter will see a better world. So will you.” 

“Thank you,” Camden said and he meant it. If Vashti could give his daughter the life she deserved, he would support her.

“You all may rest with us for the night and then you’ll head back. Tyrion is already preparing for your return, no doubt. She’ll have packs ready but you’ll have to throw them away before you reach Alyria,” Vashti explained.

The sirens nodded.

“Can we clean up?” Beteste asked. Vashti nodded with a smile.

“Aze?”

Aze grinned widely and gestured for the bloody sirens to follow her. She led them to a spot just past the cave and pointed to the pit Vashti had dug them. “Get in,” she said.

They did, though they looked at her dubiously. She laughed and began to fill the pit with water. They exclaimed in excitement over such a feat and she got joy out of watching them. They splashed, happy to be clean, though they were still in their robes.

“You can take turns,” Vashti said. “Women and men, if you’d like. Aze can make more water and we can leave you be.”

The sirens approved of such a plan and agreed that the women would go first. The men followed Esher around the cave, listening avidly as he explained what had happened in Latva before they’d arrived. Like the blessed of the volcano range, they took had fallen into the saccharine trap that was Vashti’s words. Esher marveled at the woman’s ability to ensnare people and confided in the temple sirens, now dripping with the water of Aze’s pool, that he was glad of it. 

“Do you think you can do it?” he asked them.

One siren shrugged. “We can try. It seems possible, somehow.”

“Yes, she does that, doesn’t she?” Esher asked with a slight laugh. “She makes you think impossible things are possible. I didn’t believe she could get you all here with us and she did.”

“And she freed Latva,” one of the others said.

Esher shook his head. “She gave us means. We did that on our own.”

“Syria must be proud of her,” he said and Esher nodded.

“I believe she is. She’s the only person I’ve ever met who can talk to the goddess herself.” 

“We pray everyday but it’s never like that,” one of the men said somewhat mournfully. 

“You could start now,” Esher offered. He knew it was what Vashti would tell them if she was leading them around, not him. He eyed Camden who was sitting by their fire pit poking the flames with a stick. “And you keep an eye on the people. You pray, you do what you’re good at, and you keep yourselves in line. She did this so she wouldn’t need to kill those like us unnecessarily. Don’t throw anything away by being reckless.”

“Smart words from my friend,” Vashti said warmy. Her feet were wet and sand clung to them as she approached them. Esher’s breath caught at the sight of water trailing between her breasts and catching on the hook she had imbedded there. She smiled at him wickedly. “You turned me down,” she crooned, “Eyes up.”

She didn’t chastise the other sirens for their gazes. Men had always found her body fascinating. Their eyes clung to her tattoos, the rings in her breasts, her hips where silver metal was pierced through the skin. They drank her in and she let them, shaking out her wet braids.

“Aze had to drain the water twice, there was so much blood,” she said, smiling at them men in front of her. They didn’t truly hear her and she laughed as Esher snorted. “It’s alright. Like you before, dear one, they haven’t seen a woman like this in quite some time.”

“We’ve never seen a woman like you,” one of them said before blinking and blushing.

Vashti laughed. “Isn’t that flattering,” she said. “I’ve only come to tell you the women are nearly finished. They’ll dress and come back over then it’s your turn. If you don’t want Aze there, she’ll set the water and Esher can come get her when she needs to clean it again. If you’re anything like your bloodthirsty sisters, you’ll need more than one wash.” 

The men were eager to wash. In the temple they scrubbed themselves as part of their ritual for the goddess. It had been too long since they’d been clean. They waited until the others came around the cave and then rushed for it. Aze had left the water for them and she met Vashti with the other female sirens, a smile on her face. 

“They’re eager,” she said. 

“They’re children who get to live again,” Vashti said. 

Aze laid her head on Vashti’s arm and the female sirens stilled at the sight. Blessed very rarely met each other and when they did it was with fear. Such a hunted and repressed people tried to avoid one another. Seeing a god born lean on a sand siren gave them more hope than the face of their goddess had. 

“I didn’t think you could do it. I guess I shouldn’t have doubted you. You’ve done everything you’ve said you were going to do since I’ve met you,” she said.

Vashti hummed. “I wasn’t sure about this one,” she admitted. “But I believe in Syria. She will guide me to the truth.” 

“How do you do that?” Beteste asked. The girl was lean, almost too thin, and her skin just a touch milky. She had been born below the surface, her hair more golden than the black of Vashti’s own. She looked up with blue eyes that demanded truth and Vashti asked, “Do what?”

“Believe. I was born like this. My mother knew right away and she dropped me at the temple as soon as she could. I’ve spent my life praising a goddess in echoing halls. I’ve cleaned. I’ve washed statues and myself and when I got old enough the priests sold me so someone else could exalt the goddess through my flesh. Or so he said. She never spoke to me and after a while, I stopped believing she was with me.”

Vashti knew Syria was listening through her. The goddess’ anguish at what she’d abandoned sung through her veins. She sighed.

“The gods fear one another and in that fear comes the fear of humans. They fear war and the loss of all of us with their blood. So instead, they step back. They give us their blessing and they let us to live. She was wrong and she knows it but she is here now. You won’t all hear her voice. She can’t possibly give us all the same love she gives a select few, but you are all her chosen. She is saddened by what’s been done to you and now she’s with you to make it right,” Vashi explained.

“You still love her, even with all of this pain?” one of the sirens asked.

Vashti nodded. “She is the only one who has loved me. I can give her back the same respect.”

Aze shifted but said nothing and Vashti ignored it. Esher’s words were still in her head but she couldn’t think about it. Not yet. There was a world opening up in front of her. There was no time for things like sentiment. 

“You are very strong,” one of the sirens said in awe. Vashti snorted.

“I am not any different from you. I am not here to be a queen or to strip one version of slavery from you only to put in another. When I call on you, it will be so we can build a new world. So we can  _ all  _ build it together. I will not stand on the backs of those like me so I can rise. You may pledge and I will accept that promise, but not when it comes tied to the idea that I am somehow more than all of you,” Vashti said.

It was the reason Esher stayed with her. Vashti was always vocal, even in their daily, intimate relationship, that she was no better than them. She didn’t lord her leadership over them and instead prodded them to make their own decisions. She grew angry when they talked down about themselves and would push them to believe as she did: that they were just as good, if not better, than her. Aze especially got the brunt of that belief. Being god born made her stronger than all of them but Aze seemed to forget that. She’d spent so long trying not to show her power that being given an outlet caused her to falter. 

Esher smiled at Vashti’s back as she lectured the sirens feverishly. 

“But you’re a leader. You’ll be a queen,” Beteste protested. “We’ll stand behind you.”

“You met Tyrion, did you not? The young queen in Latva?” Vashti asked. 

The sirens nodded. “She too asked if I would be a queen. I suggested she get her crown and then I left her to rule. I will unite us. I will help to bury the humans who have treated us so poorly, but I am  _ not  _ a god. I will not stand above all the rest of you. I will serve as Syria sees fit, as will the rest of you. Isn’t that enough?” 

Beteste nodded, the same fire in her eyes that Tyrion had gotten. That all of Latva had by the time Vashti left. Aze squeezed her fingers in pride. 

“It is. We will serve our goddess again. The way we were meant to,” Beteste said. The other sirens murmured their agreement. Esher bowed his head to them. 

“I have to go check on your friends. I am glad this plan worked. Freedom is our goal. I’m glad you can finally feel it too.” 

They watched him go. One of the sirens hummed in appreciation. “He is beautiful.”

“He is,” Vashti agreed. “And apparently a better person than I thought.”

“How so?” Aze asked.

“I offered him my body. As a gift for his work. He turned me down,” Vashti breezed. Aze blinked but didn’t want to show her surprise in front of the other sirens. She nodded.

“Foolish, indeed,” she murmured. 

Vashti waved her hand. “It’s done. Maybe one of you can entice him, if you so wish. You’re free now, even when you’re in the temple. You’ll be free to make your own decisions. And tonight...you don’t need to dance to greet the evening. You only need to pray. Syria likes to be paid in joy. In passion. In the burning desire of something. Live your life in revelarie and she will bless you even more.”

The girls tittered and Vashti grinned, the ring in her lip glittering even in the murky day. They spent a few more minutes talking, the temple sirens eager to know what Vashti had done in her life with the freedom she’d been granted. Though they were envious of her upbringing, none of them seemed to hold it against her. They talked until the men came back, clean and relaxed. They all joked and laughed as they would if there were no humans around. For once, Camden was the minority and he watched them in bemused quiet. He had nightmares about his daughter being forced into a temple. She was careful and gentle but one slip up and she’d be taken from him. The life of those in the temples had always seemed bleak but though they had struggles and pain, they seemed to be close, leaning on one another and laughing at jokes only they would understand. It gave him hope, almost more hope than Vashti had when she’d stepped in front of them hours before. As night drifted through the caves, darkening the sky and casting shadows over the ground, the sirens all seemed on edge.

“I could show you how I pray,” Vashti said. They nodded and she knelt. Her evening habit was now on display but she didn’t mind. She traced the lines of her tattoos with reverence, her eyes closed. She spoke to the goddess, her hands moving slowly across her body. They watched avidly, drinking in the personal moment for what it was. When she finished she looked up at them and smiled. There was a light in her eyes that dimmed the longer they were open and the sirens pounced. Questions bounced across the space and Vashti laughed in delight, answering them as best she could. The warmth of her goddess was in her blood and finally, those like her were coming alive. Syria was happy and Vashti herself was happy as well. Her plan had worked. In the morning the sirens would head back to Alyria and Vashti would take her companions further into the caves. It was time to find the others and to complete the next step in the plan. 


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A terrible surprise befalls the three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has graphic abuse and attempted rape. Be aware!

DESPORI was slowly stealing their energy. They had been in the caves for weeks and other than the occasional whistle on the wind or a stolen coin, they had seen nothing. Vashti had decided to use the time to practice skills and she drilled both Aze and Esher on their abilities, trying to expand how they used their powers. Aze could now throw faces over other people and Esher had learned to use the flames in his blood as arrows but Vashti wanted more. Esher could spit flames but he couldn’t control it. They were working on that when a whistle passed by them. Every whistle had meant something. A rabbit they could hunt, a feral family, one that had run from society years before, was passing by. It ranged from inane to extremely helpful and all three of them paused when it came. 

They didn’t expect the hunters. 

While Latva had become impenetrable, the hunters had begun using the sea on the other side of the Brisa Wood to dock. They had been filing in from the woods and now had enough of a presence to catch the sirens and god blessed that had run from Latva. Vashti’s eyes widened at the sight. Fifteen men were coming at them and they had very little room to run.

“Go!” she cried to Aze and Esher. “Run!” 

They didn’t hesitate. They both ran in opposite directions. Ten men split off and ran after them, five in each direction. Vashti was faced with five too. She turned on her heel and ran, hoping she’d given her friends enough time. 

She had learned the caves in the time they’d been there. She knew each path, each stone. What she didn’t anticipate was the paralyzing arrows. They were used rarely and only by hunters who were used to the woods. Those who hunted in Latva or the flat, unnamed areas of the world used rags dipped in the herb but the arrow that lodged between her shoulder blades was sharp. It buried itself in her flesh and she gasped, pushing herself on. When her limbs began to turn sluggish, Syria cried out to her.

_ Run! Run, darling Vashti. I cannot help you here. This is not my place. Run!  _

Vashti was slipping, her feet no longer moving beneath her. As she fell, she heard the hunters laughing.

“Gets em’ every time. Get her hands before she can think again. This is the one they all want, we don’t want er’ getting away.”

When a rock hit her temple she saw a flash of white before the world went dark. Limp and unmoving, they picked her up and broke her wrists and fingers. Laughing, the five hunters brought her back to the cave they’d been hiding in.

“They never see it coming,” one of them chuckled.

“Keep her up here. We’ll put her with the others when we’re done with her. They said alive. They didn’t say unbroken,” one of them said. He was a thin man with cruel eyes. His partner, shorter and thicker, nodded, cracking his knuckles. 

“She’s a good looking specimen. Be a shame to waste it.” 

_ No! NO! _

_ Darling, there is nothing we can do. _

_ You can. Delana is your sister. You could help her. Please, Jordan. Please. Help my child. _

_ She isn’t born of you. I don’t think- _

_ Just try. Please. This cannot be the end. Please, just try. _

_ Alright. I’ll try. _

AZE had hidden. The five hunters hadn’t seen her duck away, her hallucination of herself confusing them. She ducked down, heart thunking and tears in her eyes. She couldn’t make herself move. She knew she had to. That there were others hunting Esher and Vashti but her knees stayed stuck to the ground. Maybe this was why her father didn’t love her. This was why he didn’t answer. She was only brave with the others beside her. On her own, she hid. She hated herself but she couldn’t move. 

IN the opposite direction, Esher was using his flames to protect from their arrows. They burned before they could touch his skin and he knew the hunters were enraged by this as they shouted. They were running out of arrows and were growing tired. He ran for the direction he knew Vashti had gone. He hoped he could find her. She had no protection like his or Aze’s from the arrows. He needed to help her.

VASHTI woke to men murmuring. It had never been a good thing in her life to be surrounded by men, especially when she was on the ground. She groaned.

“Oh good. She’s up. It’s no fun to do this when they aren’t awake,” the tall man said. Vashti looked up at him. He was the leader. The one who liked to hurt his hunted creatures to make himself feel bigger. Her lip curled and he punched her, her ring cutting into her lip. She refused to cry out. He crouched in front of her.

“You’ll scream, pup,” he said, tracing a knife down her cheek and along her chest. “They always do. Why not start now?” 

Vashti kept her mouth closed. He grinned. “I love a tough one.” He angled the knife so the tip was straight against her chest. He looked down at her breasts and looked thoughtful for a moment. “How about here? You’ve painted yourself so pretty, I think I want to make it better.” 

Vashti flinched but they’d tied her broken hands behind her back. The smaller man kicked her legs out and she fell flat, her legs splayed out.

“After he plays, it’s my turn,” he said with a lecherous laugh. Vashti didn’t bother to look at him. This was a test and she knew it. Syria couldn’t help her here. She’d have to survive on her own. She tried to twist her wrist but couldn’t. When the tall man pressed the knife into her chest she made herself relax. There was one man at the mouth of the cave watching. Whether it was for his friends or to be a lookout, she wasn’t sure. Two of the others were missing but she didn’t have time to consider it. This was it. Her moment to truly prove her devotion. 

“Hold her,” the tall man barked and the thick man grabbed her shoulders, putting his legs behind her back so she couldn’t wiggle away. 

The tall man dug the knife into the tip of the first curl of her tattoo. He began to carve. Vashti closed her eyes. The pain was excruciating but she didn’t scream. She thought instead of Aze. She thought of the smooth hands that traced those tattoos with reverence. Aze’s tongue as she licked down Vashti’s body. The knife dug into her skin and blood poured down her stomach but she kept her mouth shut. Aze would be her savior, even if it was simply in her mind. There was no goddess here, no god to save her but there were memories and she fell into them. 

It felt like hours but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. When he’d finished he’d carved all the way to the final flourishes on her back and she was bleeding profusely. Between her breasts, bone could be seen, the ring pierced there glittering around the blood. She didn’t look down. She kept her eyes shut.

“Bitch didn’t scream,” the thick man commented.

The tall man sighed. He tipped her chin up with the knife, her own blood making it slide on her skin. “Come on, pup. Let it out,” he said.

His breath smelled sour and Vashti wrinkled her nose. He punched her, causing her to yelp in surprise. She fell sideways and he laughed. “There you go. Now. what else might make her squeal?” 

“I have a few ideas,” the thick man said.

“Shut up. You’ll have your chance. I know,” the tall man murmured.

Vashti’s head was reeling. He’d thrown her sideways with the hit. When he grabbed the ring in her nose and pulled, she cried out. The ring ripped from her skin and she panted at the burning feeling. He didn’t give her time to recover. He caught both of her nipples and yanked on the barbs there. She screamed as they ripped free. 

“There she is. Good pup,” he laughed his praise and she boiled with rage as blood continued to seep from her wounds. 

He pulled out the rings in her ears, causing her to whimper with each one and when he’d finished with that, he moved onto her eyebrow. He left the one between her breasts, the ring in her lip, and the one in her belly button at his friend’s request and when he’d finished, her chest was heaving and she was so angry she was shaking. Her thighs were wet with dripping blood, her skirt soaked through. Her body was growing cold and she tightened her knees when the second man neared her.

The one in the cave entry looked uneasy as the thick man got close to her. His eyes shifted to looking back out the doorway. Vashti cursed all human men and hoped Syria heard her. The thick man laughed as he neared.

“You’ve gotten her wet for me,” he said, looking at the blood between her thighs. His friend nodded.

“Are you going to pray?” he taunted her. “Sometimes they do.”

She looked up. “No,” she said. His smile widened.

“Because your goddess has abandoned you?” he asked.

“No,” she said.

“Then why?” he asked, stretching his arms over his head. He smelled of dirt and sweat. 

“Because I’m going to kill you myself and she knows it,” she said.

He laughed loudly and she let him. In time he would see.

“You done?” he asked his friend.

“One more thing. Bring the brand,” the tall man said. Vashti hid her hope. It was exactly what she’d been waiting for. “Her face. Mark it. We want them to know who got her.”

They hadn’t caught a sand siren before. She could tell. They were wood hunters, not city hunters. They used arrows. They didn’t know that a sand siren could withstand heat. Not only would a brand not mark her skin, it wouldn’t hurt her. She had one try to make this work. She let herself go limp and like she’d hoped, they believed what they wanted to believe. 

“Pup’s given in,” the tall man laughed. The man at the front of the cave brought the hot brand close. She could feel its heat. She wanted it. She didn’t turn. She needed to startle them. Her wrists and fingers were broken but if she could have just a moment, maybe she could do something to wiggle free. When the brand was nearly on her cheek she turned her head. Slowly, eyes locked on the tall man, she licked the iron. He cried out, jumping back. The man holding it dropped it and the thick man stumbled back.

She tried to move her fingers and felt a blaze of flame around her wrists. The ropes they’d tied her with were gone. She pulled her arms around her body and twisted her arms. It was crude but enough to encase the men in the sand of the cave. She sent a quick thanks to Jordan for his help and then focused on her task. She’d been given this chance. She wouldn’t squander it.

“Normally I could do all of this easily but you’ve broken my hands. It won’t be as quick. I think I’m fine with that though, aren’t you?” she asked the men. 

The one with the iron quivered in the sand. She looked at him first. “To do nothing is just as bad as the act itself, I believe. You can’t get into Latva but if you could you’d see what’s been done to those who did nothing. I think you’ll understand what I’m doing now, too.”

He tried to beg but she filled his mouth with sand. It was blunt as it forced its way down his throat. He died slowly and she watched, no emotion in her eyes. When he had stopped jerking and the sand around his body fell still, she moved on. The thick man was shaking. She could see the ground quiver with each jerk of his limbs.

“How many?” she asked him, her head tilted slightly. Her body was cold. She knew she couldn’t stand without help but still, she stared into his eyes. He looked down. “How many?” she ordered again. “How many have you beaten and then raped? How many have you stolen innocence from so you can feel bigger?”

He spat at her. She smirked slightly. “Humans. Men, really. You think you deserve more than you do. You deserve nothing from others and yet you take it. You sedate us so you can take it. You break us so you can take it. Pitiful creatures, all of you. This is what I’m ridding the world of. Thank you. For reminding me. You’ve fed my conviction with your actions. I wish that was enough to absolve you but it won’t be. You don’t need to tell me how many. I can imagine. So can my goddess. She has never abandoned me and she won’t now. Your souls go into the ground when you die. She’ll make sure you stay there. Screaming. For all eternity. And I will happily send you to her.” 

She rotated her arms in a circular motion, thick lines of sand climbing up his body. The sand holding his legs shifted so she could see the apex of his thighs. “Oh,” she crooned, “Is it hard to perform under pressure?” The sand circled his groin and he paled. “Yes, now you’re understanding. With use of my hands I’d be able to do it swiftly. It would hurt, no doubt, but not as much as this will.” 

He began to shake in earnest. 

“I’d stop that. I don’t have good aim as it is. Not with my hands like this. You’ll bleed out, obviously, but it will be worse if you struggle,” she said.

He ignored her and his friend began to scream. She moved her arms more and the sand tightened. She couldn’t open his pants but she knew she could rip into his skin even with that barrier. She didn’t smile. Pain like this to those who deserved it usually gave her pleasure but she was so cold. As the sand tightened she felt only icy justice in her veins. She was a monster. She’d said as much many times. She’d killed countless people. But she’d never tortured like these men had. She’d never tied someone up and broken their bones just to hurt them later. She was terrible but these men were worse. Her sand cut through his pants and began to rip into his skin. He howled.

“Oh, even I lasted longer,” she chided with a click of her tongue. They hadn’t taken the bar in her tongue and it clicked on her teeth. Her body ached but she focused on his screams. Somehow, they made her warmer. 

She ripped him apart. Slowly. The appendage that he’d planned to use on her was now bloody on the ground. He was pale, blood pouring from him. He’d stopped screaming and she tipped her head to look at her handiwork. “I’ve always wondered what it felt like. The sand, I mean. It leaves grains behind. I can’t control every single one. Not even a god born could. Does it hurt?” 

He was dying. Quickly. She smiled coldly. “I suppose it does.”

There was no humor or happiness in her eyes. When he had stilled, she turned to his friend. The tall man. The one who had ripped out her piercings. Who had defiled her goddess. He stared back, eyes wide.

“Come on, pup,” she said mockingly, “Scream for me.”

He didn’t speak. She trailed the sand up his chest. “You did far worse than your friend could ever do. Not because he didn’t finish...no. I could wash away the filth between my legs. I’m not ashamed of that. I am not ashamed of giving myself and I would never be ashamed of admitting I’d been taken, especially if the man who did such a thing is dead. And he is, isn’t he? But you...you defiled my goddess. You made a mockery of my prayer. Of the very thing that brought me here. I  _ will  _ change this world and you, sadly, won’t be here to see it. I have one question before you go.”

The man kept his lips resolutely shut. 

“Where are the others?”

He looked confused. She sighed and stabbed him with sand until he cried out.

“The other sirens. I don’t know what kind. Probably Delana’s blessed. They hide out here. Where are they? You wouldn’t have gone after me if you thought you’d have to keep me locked up. You don’t have enough arrows for it and humans are weak. You’re meaning to head back to Alyria soon, I’m sure. You know about the bounty so you’ve been here long enough. Where. Are. They?” 

He kept his mouth shut. She shook her head. 

“Fine. I’ll find them. And no doubt they’ll tell me how many of them you did this to. You’ll be dead, of course, but I’ll find out. And Syria will know. Jordan will know. Delana will know. You’ll be in hell for this,” she said. 

“The gods are a sham,” he said.

Vashti’s eyes blazed and for a moment, the tall man could see Syria behind her eyes. He shrunk back, paling at the sight.

“You’ll die and she will hold you for your entire afterlife. Enjoy it. And don’t forget to scream. Pup,” she said.

She carved him up like he’d done to her. She moved slowly. More slowly than he had when he’d carved her up but she wanted to get it right. She cut her prayers into his skin while he cried and screamed. Finally, he was broken. She’d cut deeper than he had. She could see bone along each line. She smiled cruelly, looking at her handiwork with critical eyes.

“I’d have done better if I’d had use of my hands,” she told the shallow breathing man, “but I think it’s pretty close. Syria be praised.”

He was passed out and she sighed as she looked at his body. “I only wish I could give you more,” she murmured. She looked down at her legs. She had to stand. She knew she had to. Willing herself forward, she pushed up onto her knees. She hissed. She was cold and tired, her legs shaking beneath her.

“Stand,” she commanded herself. “ Stand up. You can do it.”

“Vashti?” a voice called from outside the cave and she collapsed backwards in relief. Esher. He’d come to find her. “Vashti?”

“I’m here,” she called back. “I...I can’t stand. I’m afraid I need your help.” 

It took him a moment to find the cave but when he did, he looked on in horror. Vashti was covered in blood. It was soaked down her skirt, seeping from her chest and face. There was a red mark on her cheek and her right eye was swollen. Her wrists and fingers were twisted unnaturally and her skin was pale. There were three men buried in the sand in front of her, one without his penis and another cut up almost past the point of recognition. He sucked in a breath.

“My legs are shaking. I think I’ve lost too much blood,” she said calmly. 

“Vashti…” he trailed off.

“I’m okay. They didn’t finish,” she said. “Help me up.” 

“You’re bleeding. Your nose..your breasts…” he didn’t step closer to her, only looked on with wide eyes.

“Esher,” she snapped until he looked back to her eyes. “Help me up. I’ll heal but I need to get up and I need to find whoever else they’ve stowed around here. And Aze. Where is Aze?” 

He stepped towards her. “I don’t know,” he said. “When we ran she went the other way.” 

“Esher…”

“We’ll find her,” he said firmly. “But first we get you up and we stop the bleeding. You’re right. That’s a lot of blood.” 

He reached for her arm. “You killed them,” he said. She nodded. “Good. I would have if you hadn’t.”

She smiled at him. It wasn’t as sharp as usual. As if what she’d done to them had taken a lot out of her. His rage boiled but she shook her head. “They’re gone. Don’t bother thinking about them. I certainly won’t. Help me out of here. We’ll find Aze and then find who they took.”

He led her carefully from the cave, trying not to stare at the blood drying on her chest and stomach. 

“You may ask,” she said, staring straight ahead.

“What did they do?” he asked.

“What you can see and that’s it. They didn’t get any farther. They tried to brand me and I got them by surprise. It would have been more but let’s not dwell. I finished them off. I don’t know where their two friends went but they weren’t in that cave or they’d have come running.”

“They went with mine. They couldn’t get me so they ran off and found two of yours. I saw them hunting before I found you,” he said. 

“We’ll kill them,” she said.

He nodded. “We will.”

“After we’ve found Aze,” Vashti clarified. He nodded. 

AZE made herself stand. “Stop it,” she chided herself. “Stop and get up. You’re fine. You need to find them.” She put one foot in front of the other until she was back on the path. She made herself walk. Each pass of the wind made her jump and she shivered with cold but then she heard Vashti’s voice. It was at their camp. She broke into a run. 

At first she didn’t see the blood. Vashti’s back was to her and the curves of her tattoo seemed marred but Aze kept running. She skidded to a stop when Esher looked up and Vashti turned. Vashti’s nose was ripped open. Her eye and cheek were swollen and red. Her eyebrow was at an odd angle and there was dried blood on her face. When she turned all the way around, Aze could see the reason why the usually stunning tattoos were so dull. There was bone showing between her breasts and the rings in each nipple were gone. Aze felt tears flood her eyes.

“Aze,” Vashti sighed. “You’re okay.”

Aze fell to her knees and bent until her head touched the ground. “I’m sorry. I should have come to find you. I should have helped.” 

Vashti made herself stand. She forced herself to walk to Aze. It hurt to move. Her body protested each step but she made herself do it. She held her broken hands in front of her and called Aze’s name softly. Aze looked up.

“You saved me,” she said. “When he carved into my chest I thought of you. Of your exaltations not to any god but to me. You saved me. I didn’t want you to find me. They would have only tried to hurt you too.”

“But my worth-”

“Is not measured in what you can for me. Not anymore. Your worth is in yourself. Yours to,” she said, looking back at Esher. 

“Your hands...what did they do to you?” Aze whispered. She pushed up on her knees, her hands hovering over Vashti’s skin. She didn’t know where she could touch and she dropped her hands after a moment of indecision. 

“They wanted to keep me broken. But they can’t. No human can. They’re dead, don’t worry. Now we’ll find the others and kill them to. Then we’ll find the ones they took and we’ll talk them into joining us. It’ll be okay,” Vashti said.

“Your hands…”

“We’ll fix them. Somehow,” Vashti said.

“You trust Syria to that?” Aze asked.

“I trust Syria and Jordan. He came to my aid when I least expected it. I’ll have to thank them both later,” Vashti said.

“And Delana has blessed healers as well. If Vashti’s right we might get lucky,” Esher said.

“I was lucky when you found me,” she replied.

“The luck would have been this never happening,” Aze snorted.

Vashti shook her head as Aze stood up. “You can’t think like that. The luck of the moment is relative to what’s happening. It was unlucky that they found us but inevitable that they would at some point if they hunt here and have no way into Latva. What happened was unlucky but it only happened to be, which is luck in itself as I’m the only one on good terms with my goddess. They would’ve just subdued Esher and locked him with the others and you would have had no way out, Aze. I was the only one who could be taken like that and make it out. And I was lucky that Esher found me because I was having trouble standing,” Vashti finished.

“You’re...an optimist?” Esher asked in surprise.

“In some matters. In those of humans, no. I’ve never found a human to prove their worth, but in the way of the gods, yes. They built time to function in a certain way. It’s best to let it do its job,” Vashti said with a shrug. She winced as the move pulled on her wounds.

“What about Camden?” Aze asked as she tried to help Vashti. Once more, her hands fluttered over her partner before falling to her sides.

“Camden is doing this for his daughter. It’s admirable, no doubt, but without a blessed daughter I doubt he would have taken our side. There are many humans who could be called good people but that doesn’t make them worth our time. Good people still watch horrific things happen every day and do nothing. I believe he would be one of those, if fate hadn’t intervened,” Vashti explained. 

“So you’re setting people up to fail?” Aze asked.

Esher gestured and they began to walk slowly down the pathway as Vashti answered. “I’m not setting anyone up to fail. The problem isn’t me, it’s everyone else. The bar has been set so low, so to speak, that it isn’t hard to reach. I expect more. The gods expect more. Those of us who are chosen, we show potential. The gods can see it in us when we’re born. I expect the same excellence. Humans simply have less of it.” 

Aze had seen first hand the cruelty of people. She was looking at it right now. Vashti’s skin was pale and still she was moving. Still she praised her goddess and blamed the men who had done such a terrible thing to her. Aze dipped her head. Vashti took that to be agreement and kept walking.

“Humans are weak,” Esher said. 

“Exactly,” Vashti said with a smile. Her split lip bled more but she didn’t seem phased. Aze opened her mouth to speak but before she could a shout sounded from down the path. She cried out and Esher spun. Vashti had already been hurt. If they caught her, if they caught any of them, they would die. Slowly and painfully. They would be killed publically and what Vashti had started would die with her. Esher wrapped her in his arms and shoved Aze behind her. He blazed in flames, his whole body alight. The arrows he’d expected burned away and when he heard the men shouting, he turned, allowing the flames to stay on his skin. He walked towards them, rage burning. They’d cut her. They’d meant to rape her. He’d seen the men that she’d killed and didn’t doubt that while what she’d done was horrific, what they would have done was worse. He would kill them. For her. For Syria. Even for Jordan. This was his kill. There were the five who followed him and the two who had left Vashti. The others were still gone but he didn’t care. He would kill them. He would kill them all for what they’d done. 

The hunters panicked but they didn’t run. They’d never been truly harmed by a siren. It had never occurred to them that they could be. When Esher extended his hand they only looked at it and when flames bloomed towards them, it was far too late for them to run. They burned and Esher smiled. He kept the fire going until they had stopped howling, stopped moving, and their skin stunk of ash. Vashti walked up to him slowly and reached out to touch his shoulder. Her broken fingers settled on his skin. He turned, flames dying down in his eyes. She couldn’t grab him but she pushed herself up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. He choked in surprise.

“It wouldn’t just be my body,” she told him before sauntering past to the bodies. Aze stopped beside him and they watched Vashti lower herself shakily to her knees. She was praying, they could tell and they left her to it for a moment. 

“Thank you. You pushed me behind her. You didn’t have to do that. You could have only saved her,” Aze said softly. 

“You two are a pair. Without you she’s too hard and without her you don’t follow what you want. You two need each other and for me to have what I need, I need both of you,” he said. 

Aze sucked her teeth. “Right.”

He caught her arm. “She isn’t mine to take.”

Aze looked over at Vashti, still on her knees with her bloody and swollen lips moving, praying.

“She might be now. It doesn’t mean I’m giving her up. But I can share,” Aze said with a smirk. It was obvious she was trying to not worry and Esher swung his arm around her shoulder. They’d walked like this before and Aze allowed it, taking in his warmth as it came. 

“Good to know,” he chuckled. 

Vashti smirked to herself. She was praying but she was also listening. Syria had gone quiet, though her relief at Vashti being okay was obvious in the warmth that flooded down her back. Syria couldn’t heal like some of her god siblings but she could help a bit. The bleeding ceased and some of the pain faded away. There was something happening with the gods. Vashti didn’t push for answers or even for her goddess to speak, she simply thanked her and Jordan for helping her get free. Listening to Esher and Aze made her smile. Perhaps her two companions could learn to like each other and to share. Vashti hadn’t expected much from Esher but what he’d done for her today had proved her wrong.

Vashti liked to be proved wrong when it helped her. She had offered her body to him before as a prize, now she would offer it out of want. She didn’t think to ask Aze how she felt. They’d never discussed what they were and frankly, Vashti didn’t want to. She pushed herself to her feet, wobbling slightly before setting herself and turning to look back at them. 

“Come on. We have to find who they took,” she said.

“There were five more,” Aze felt compelled to point out.

“And we’ll kill them too,” Vashti said easily. Aze didn’t complain and Esher smiled. 


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get into the caves and everyone begins to heal.

KAEDA tilted her head. Her milky eyes saw nothing in the dark but she could hear beyond the cave.

“They’re here,” she whispered and the words passed back along her sisters who had been stolen with her. Kaeda Oranthian originally of Alyria had lived in Despori since she’d been broken free of her temple and she knew each whistle of the wind. The air was changing. Those they had been waiting for had come. The sisters pressed together. A single torch was kept in the bowels of the cave for the hunters to see by. Sometimes they took a girl with them and she’d return crying or bleeding. Usually both. Kaeda hoped that their savior, the one they had prophesied, was as cruel to humans as they’d heard. The whispers of her terror and of what she’d done in Latva had reached even them, deep in the caves of Despori. Kaeda wasn’t cruel. None of those chosen by Delana were, but she wished these men extinct. They were already dead inside, it didn’t seem impossible to wish that their bodies were as well.

The hunters were the worst of humanity. The reason the blessed hid their powers and didn’t praise the gods who had loved them enough to give them gifts. Kaeda praised her goddess just as all those in Despori did, but it was not the case elsewhere. When she’d heard of Vashti Valeria, she knew that even if her people wouldn’t side with the woman, she would. 

The whistle of air above them sung sweetly. Brisa’s blessed, leading the way.

“The hunters must be gone. Their footsteps are too light,” one of the girls whispered. Kaeda nodded. 

“It’s her. She’s here,” Kaeda replied.

“May your words reach Delana’s ears,” one of the older girls said.

Kaeda hummed her approval but knew she didn't need the goddess. She was right. Vashti was here. She and her companions.

“She’s moving slowly,” Kaeda murmured. “Petra…”

A slim woman pressed to Kaeda’s elbow. “I’ll help her. When she finds us.” 

“They must have gotten to her,” one of the other girls said. The words seemed to echo as others repeated it. 

“But she’s alive. She’s here. She beat them and I bet they’re dead,” Kaeda said, her voice cold.

“Praise Delana,” they all murmured. 

ABOVE them, in the cave entrance, Vashti listened. “There was a whistle. You heard it.” 

“We did,” Esher confirmed. 

“They must be here. Look for a path. They wouldn’t leave them up here. That’s too easy. If there are more people living here they could’ve broken them out. It wouldn’t be easy to see,” Vashti said. 

Aze and Esher nodded. Vashti wished she could help but with her hands broken and aching she could do little but watch and wait. 

“There’s a breeze behind this rock,” Aze said after a long moment of looking. 

“Can you move it?” Vashti asked, drawing closer.

“I can,” Esher said. He was strong from building blades. He pushed the rock and after a breath, it slid away.

“Hunters think they’re so clever,” Vashti muttered as she looked into the hidden cave. It was deep and had a steep incline leading down. There were only a few torches and they were low as if they’d been left there for a long time.

“It could be trap,” Aze pointed out.

“And if it is, Esher will kill them. I’ll help. Let’s go,” Vashti said. 

Vashti was fearless. Aze had always liked that about her. She reminded herself of that as they descended into the cave. Vashti had never let her down. Even when she’d thought she deserved it, Vashti had been there to support her. She could support Vashti now. They walked deeper and deeper into the cool ground. Aze shivered and Esher pulled her into his side. She was thankful for that and huddled against him. When it seemed as if they’d walked into the very belly of the Earth they heard a voice.

“You’ve found us.”

It was soft and musical, the common tongue of Alyria sounding slightly wrong in it, as if the speaker had once known the words but had since fallen out of using them. Vashti looked around the dimly lit cave and could make out forms. It seemed like many women had been crammed into the depths of the cave and two stepped forward. 

“I’m Kaeda of Despori,” the first one said. “And this is Petra of Despori. May she look at your wounds?”

“She’s a healer?” Vashti asked. Kaeda nodded. Vashti held out her broken hands. Petra took them and felt around them with gentle prodding fingers. She then lifted her eyes to Vashti’s face. The holes in her body from her piercings could be easily fixed. The deep gashes in her chest could also be healed. Her hands would take time. Petra said as much and Kaeda translated.

Vashti nodded. “I thought as much. We’ll free you and then you can fix what you can. I only need to be able to use my hands.” Kaeda murmured the words back to Petra. 

Petra shook her head and spoke. Kaeda waited until she finished to translate it back. “She says she can fix it, it’ll just take a while and it will hurt. You’ll have full use of your hands and arms again.” 

Vashti looked grateful. “Thank you,” she said. “I didn’t dare hope. My usual healer is in Alyria.”

“Yes, you seem like the kind of person who would need a usual healer,” Kaeda said with a small smile. Vashti chuckled.

“We’re chained in. Can you break them?” Kaeda asked. 

“I can heat the links and break through them,” Esher offered, “But you’ll need something to remove the parts on your wrists.”

“We have that back home,” Kaeda said. So many of them had run from places they’d been locked into that it had seemed like an investment. The first women in the caves had spent half their lives in chains. They’d begun cutting them off quickly. No one wanted to stay in chains once they were free. 

Esher nodded and began to move through the woman, heating the links that draped between them and melting them away. He could keep the heat away from their skin and some of the young women tittered at his strong arms and power. He grinned at them, happy to be at the center of their gazes. When he’d freed them all he headed back to Vashti’s side. She smiled at him gratefully. 

Kaeda could sense the motion and her lips turned upward. “I can see we were wrong. We thought it was only the god born but it’s not. It’s all of you.” 

“What do you mean?” Aze asked.

“We thought that it was you who held her up. We’ve never felt anyone like her before. We’d already decided to side with her but this would make us even more sure,” Kaeda explained to Aze.

Aze looked at Vashti. “You’re going to work with us?”

“We’re going to pledge ourselves to your cause. We saw you coming. We knew what you would ask. We discussed it and we had decided we would join you but we got caught before we could speak with you. Thank you for freeing us,” Kaeda said.

“Are you the only one who speaks Alyrian?” Vashti asked.

Kaeda smiled. “In here, yes. There are others back home. Come. We’ll get your things and we’ll show you.” 

Vashti began to lead the way out of the caves. She walked next to Kaeda as the others followed Esher and Aze. 

“How long have you been down here?” she asked.

Kaeda counted before saying, “At least a week.”

“How many of you did they hurt?” Vashti asked, her voice harder.

Kaeda shook her head. “I can’t count that. I don’t wish to.” 

Vashti nodded. “They’re dead,” she said. “I killed them.”

“From the looks if it, they nearly did the same to you. Delana teaches that violence isn’t always the answer but I am glad of this. Men can be monsters. They were too far gone to try to save.”

“Syria teaches that a fight is what you make it. It might not always be the answer but it is one we can count on,” Vashti said with a ghost of a smile.

“And in this case, she was right. You must know that our kind don’t fight like you. We won’t be able to stand up as you can in the end,” Kaeda warned.

“I wouldn’t expect you to. Someone I know back home said something to me before I left. It stuck with me. He’s a healer and he said he would stand with me even when he couldn’t fight. That’s what I’m looking for. Support. When I stand up and expect others to fight, I will want you to be ready to help them. I would also ask you to help us see the paths of our future. I don’t need more soldiers.”

“Yes you do,” Kaeda said and Vashti laughed.

“Yes, I do. But not from you,” she said. Kaeda inclined her head as they neared the the entrance. Some of the women who had been trapped had been there for longer than Kaeda and they blinked as the bleak light of day hit their faces. Vashti could see Petra’s milky eyes and pale skin just as she saw Kaeda’s. Many of Delana’s blessed were born blind or went blind as their abilities developed but Petra had clearly been born below the surface.

“How come she doesn’t speak Alyrian?” Vashti asked softly.

“Petra was sold when she was a baby. She was used in Latva first until a sympathetic older slave helped free her. She ran here and learned the whispers of Despori and the songs of Brisa. She never had a chance to learn the language of her birth,” Kaeda explained.

Vashti nodded and kept walking. When they’d all exited the cave she was surprised by the age of some of the women. Some could barely be called girls, they were so young. One woman had a baby pressed to her chest, clear eyes wide. 

Kaeda spoke to the group, the language of Despori one that sounded more like the cries of the wind than words. They chittered back, many looking at Vashti as they did. She shifted. Aze touched her arm and Vashti smiled at her. Kaeda laughed as one of the girls seemed to ask a question.

“She wants to know which one is your lover. It’s hard to tell,” she translated.

Aze blushed as Vashti grinned. “Aze, but I’m not opposed to both.”

Kaeda translated back and the girl nodded in appreciation as the others tittered. “We don’t see much hope here for a different life. If you had come alone we would not have stood with you. This, more than anything else, gives us what we need to know you’re our best chance. Love between two blessed is rare and even more rare with a god born.”

Vashti didn’t know what to say to that so she simply kept walking. Kaeda knowingly smiled at her back. Aze caught up to the blessed and looked at her expectantly.

“I can’t tell you about her heart. I don’t see those things clearly and even if I did, I wouldn’t give away the confidence of a hopeful friend,” Kaeda said. 

“No, I don’t want...no, I’m just curious. I’ve heard those like you can see the true heart of a person. Is Vashti...good?” Aze asked. 

Kaeda laughed. “It’s rarely so easy, god born,” she said. “No one is fully one or the other. There are shades to each person. Choices they make and their very lives affect it.” 

“And Vashti?” Aze prodded.

Ahead of them, Vashti was wandering, confident that someone would correct her when it was time. She sensed the others needs to talk. 

“Vashti is complicated. There’s a darkness in her that not many carry but her convictions are what keep it in check. Had she been human I would fear for her. In this life, in this version of herself, she is the best she could be,” Kaeda said.

“So she’s good?” Aze asked.

“You aren’t listening,” Kaeda said kindly. 

“I just need to know. Am I following the right thing?” Aze pushed.

Kaeda stopped walking. “There’s no such thing as right or wrong. We like to pretend there is. As a people it’s easier to say there are so there are rules. The things you consider right are hard to define and no one is simply one thing or another. You love her, don’t you?”

Aze looked ahead and nodded.

“Then she’s good for you. Love is the purest form of good and bad. You embrace it and you run with it and just maybe you’re what you’re meant to be. Do you see?” Kaeda asked, her head tilted slightly. 

“No,” Aze said.

Kaeda laughed and patted Aze’s shoulder. “We’ll show you. She’ll need time to heal. We’ll work on it.” 

Aze sighed but kept walking. She wasn’t sure she’d ever understand but one thing Kaeda said stuck out to her. She loved Vashti no matter what. Perhaps that was the best path for her. 

ESHER walked with Petra, his eyes on Vashti’s back. Petra chuckled softly. 

“You love her too, don’t you?” she asked in Latvian. Esher blinked in surprise.

“You speak my tongue?” he asked. 

She nodded. “I was raised there. I never did see my home. I don’t know if I can even really call it that, since I never knew it. You didn’t answer my question.” 

He kept watching Vashti. She wasn’t walking as smoothly as she usually did and the anger rose in him again. “I respect her. She set me free. She proved herself.”

“And she wants you. She’s said as much. What has broken you all so much that you can’t admit it?” Petra asked, milky eyes on him. She didn’t need to look forward. She knew the echoes of Despori. It was in her blood. She could walk without her sight. 

Esher only shook his head. He wasn’t ready to delve into his feelings. Petra touched his arm. “We felt you all. It’s part of our gift. We followed her. We saw the Oasis born and we also saw you. You burned so brightly with so much anger. There were so many paths here. We couldn’t predict which one would bring you all to us. But then...you walked into the cave and we knew. It was the one we hadn’t dared hope for. You’ve been given a gift. Don’t squander it.”

He gently removed her hand from his arm. “I have to check on her,” he said. She smiled and gestured. He moved ahead to where Vashti was walking alone. When another of the blessed came to walk beside Petra, she giggled at what the woman said and nodded. They knew. The path Esher was on was one of many and he’d managed to find the perfect one. If he kept on it, he could have everything he wanted. 

VASHTI looked at him as he jogged up beside her. She smirked. “I’m fine. Petra helped. I don’t need to lean on you.”

“You think that’s why I’m here? I wanted to check on you. Are you...okay?” he hesitated and she knew immediately what he was asking.

“He didn’t get to it,” she said frankly. “I’m fine.” 

“They ripped out your rings,” he said, touching her eyebrow. “They cut you open. Even if they didn’t finish...you don’t need to pretend.”

“I’m not,” she said with a shrug. “They didn’t finish and now they’re dead. There’s no point in dwelling. I’m still here. Thanks to you.”

Esher snorted in surprise. “I…”

“You saved me with no thought of it. You killed the hunters. Don’t sell yourself short. I couldn’t stand when you found me. I was at the mercy of anyone who came by next. You are invaluable to me,” she said. 

He flushed. “Oh.”

Her gaze flicked up his chest and she smirked again. “I’m broken right now, but what you’re thinking...yes. The answer is yes. When you’re ready, of course.”

Esher was saved from answering. As his lips flapped, Kaeda called out, “It’s to the left. Follow us, now.” 

Vashti laughed as he sighed in relief. They followed the group of blessed, Esher throwing his arm over her shoulders as they went. She smiled, snaking her arm around his waist. Together, they continued into the dark. 

THE cave entrance was pitch black and Aze had to take the hand of a child while Vashti and Esher were led by one of the blessed farther up. They were blind in the dark, Aze wondering what it must be like to live life in such a way all the time. 

“Can any of you see?” she asked. 

Kaeda replied from ahead of her. “Yes. There are lights lower down. We just don’t wish to risk it up here. Hunters are always around.” 

“Oh good,” Aze sighed. Kaeda chuckled. 

“Tell me, if you couldn’t see her, would you still love her?” the blessed asked, curiosity obvious in her voice. 

Aze paused to consider the question. She’d never thought about it. But as she remembered her brightest moments with Vashti, she realized they didn’t rely on sight. “Yes,” she said. “I would. She is very beautiful but…”

“That isn’t what draws you in. Your question from before, I think I have a better answer now,” Kaeda said. The child leading Aze was silent as the two women spoke and Aze was glad of it. The darkness felt private, even with all the others around them. “You love her even with your eyes shut. There is no other place for you to be, Aze of Oasis. You’ll soon see. There was another path for you but it is too late for it. This is exactly where you were meant to end up and you’ve made sure of it. There is no right or wrong when you love someone. It might be weakness but it is also strength. Use that and you will be unstoppable. All three of you.” 

“Three?” Aze asked.

Kaeda chuckled. “Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it. You will get a choice in what you accept, there is always choice, but there is something between all of you. Something more than most would see in a lifetime.” 

Aze shook her head. “I don’t want-”

Kaeda cut her off. “Don’t deny things to us. We can see your heart. When we first felt Vashti, we were unsure of where we would stand with her. Then we felt you and you tempered her flames. Still, it was a guessing game until we met you now. There is no hiding from those like us. You may not know how you feel, but there is nothing in you that is denying a possibility.”

“She can’t have us both if she steps into the role Syria wants for her,” Aze denied.

“Who says? She wants to build a new world. What makes you think she won’t make sure there’s a place for both of you?” Kaeda asked. 

As she spoke, they reached the start of the torches. One of the seeing blessed grabbed it and began to lead them deeper into the tunnels. Aze seized the moment and scurried forward to Esher and Vashti. Kaeda shook her head and smiled. 

“What it must be like not to see,” she mused. The child next to her agreed. 

VASHTI smiled as Aze got close to her. “Did you figure whatever it was out?” she asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aze said.

It was the kind of answer Vashti would give so the woman only shrugged and leaned more into Esher’s warmth. 

“We’re all going to be alright,” she said. “I’ve thanked Jordan and Syria for what they’ve done for me and now I’ll thank Brisa and Delana as well.”

“Things seem to just fall into your lap,” Kaeda said, coming up behind them. 

Vashti lifted her ruined eyebrow and looked down her body. Kaeda shrugged. “You could have died,” she said. Vashti believed her. “Luck was on your side. Or perhaps the gods were,” Kaeda finished. 

“I’d rather believe that,” Vashti replied. 

“No doubt,” Kaeda said before stepping in front of them. She called out in the language of Despori, smiling when women rushed from the tunnels and into the light. There were more people than Vashti had been expecting and she watched in surprise as they swarmed those she had saved. There was chattering and hugging until an old woman hobbled into the space. The path was crowded but somehow, the women parted so she could draw close. She was leaning on a cane and her eyes were a pale blue, looking past them as she spoke to Kaeda. 

“This is Mama,” Kaeda said once she’d listened to what the woman had said. “She’s our matriarch. She wishes to welcome you to our home. She also wishes to thank you for bringing us back safely.” 

Vashti nodded, dipping into a small bow. Though her body hurt, it had lessened with Petra’s help and anyone who could last so long in the caves of Despori deserved it. Mama chuckled as if she could see the movement. She spoke and Kaeda nodded, a smile playing on her pale lips.

“She says there’s no need for that. A future queen shouldn’t bow to anyone.” 

“I don’t wish to rule,” Vashti said as she stood. “I only wish to free us.”

“Yes, we know. We can see your heart, Vashti Valeria. It’s why we’ve vowed to stand with you. Like the sirens of Latva, we’ll kneel for you. Whether you want it or not, you will be queen. With freedom comes a need to for leadership. Step into your role or your plan won’t hold,” Kaeda said. 

“I thought you couldn’t tell us about the future,” Aze said, trying not to sound accusing.

“There are many paths for the future. The one you are hoping for needs you to accept what you can be. While we don’t wish to influence future decisions, we also don’t wish to see a plan we agree with fall apart. You will be queen if you accept it. If you don’t those who follow you will not know who to turn to,” Kaeda explained. 

Mama nodded and spoke, the other blessed waiting until she’d finished to look at Vashti once more.

“She wishes to know if you’ll accept your role. Not much could make us consider leaving our home. This chance...it is something we barely wish to hope for. If you can’t step into your true place in life we will not be able to help you,” Kaeda translated. 

Vashti looked at Aze and then Esher. Aze, who she had promised would always stand beside her and Esher who had proved himself to her twice in one day. She turned back to Kaeda. 

“And what of them?” she asked.

Kaeda smiled as Mama babbled back. It seemed the matriarch of Delana could understand Alyrian, she just couldn’t speak it. Kaeda replied to what the woman said before saying to Vashti, “That’s up to you. You’re the one building this new world. We don’t see everything. Paths are always changing. Choices mark new corridors and we can’t possibly keep track of them all. Why do you think many rich men wish to own us? A singular focus on them gives them a better chance than just speaking to one of us would since we woud be able to focus solely on them. For you the future is a tangle of roads. You need to choose which one you walk. I’m afraid we’ve already given too much away. All I can say on that is that it seems you have already chosen.” 

Aze blushed and looked down but Vashti only nodded. There was a pause and then Mama began to speak once more. Kaeda listened and nodded.

“Mama welcomes you to our home and invites you to stay with us for as long as you need to heal. Petra is a lovely healer and she’ll help you with your hands and scars if you so wish it. She also asks if you and Aze would come with her to meet a very special person to her,” Kaeda said. 

Vashti looked at Esher who only smiled. “Go,” he urged. She nodded. 

“Alright,” she said.

“We’ll take care of him, don’t worry,” Kaeda said with a little laugh. Vashti was protective it seemed. It boded well for the future they hoped for that the streak extended to the sun siren. Petra stepped up and touched his arm. He nodded at her and Vashti relaxed. 

“Lead the way,” she told Mama and the old woman did. 

UDIN was a rarity and he knew it. He was sitting, his legs tucked under his body, following the line Aze of Oasis had walked so far. Her future was still murky but the future his mother so hoped for him was fading with each step she took. He opened his eyes when he felt Mama nearing. Though he could see, it was very faint and he squinted in the flickering light, making out the shapes of two women behind the older one. 

“Mama,” he greeted.

“You’re Alyrian,” Vashti said in surprise. “And male.”

Udin chuckled nervously. “Yes. Well. Kaeda saved me when I was just a teenager.” 

“Dalena usually blesses women,” Vashti said in fascination as she neared. He flinched slightly as she got too close and she took a step back, kneeling. “I don’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh. It’s alright. Many things startle me,” he said with a nervous titter. Aze knelt beside Vashti, her leg brushing her partner’s. Udin noted that before studying them both. “You’re Vashti Valeria and Aze of Oasis. I’ve been following your path.”

“It seems you all have,” Vashti said somewhat dryly. 

Udin chuckled again, the sound getting caught in his throat. “Yes, well, they had me do it because of what I am.”

“A male blessed,” Vashti said.

“No,” Aze breathed. “Not blessed.” 

She was staring at him. He couldn’t make himself look back. He only nodded, eyes downcast. Vashti caught up quickly and leaned forward. There was a tattoo on the young man’s head. A crudely drawn eye right between his eyebrows. Her lip curled. He had scars on his wrists, the ones that came from too tight shackles. He’d been kept locked up, probably because of his rarity. 

“You’re god born,” she said. 

He looked up, sandy hair long enough to fall in his eyes. “I am. Delana is my mother. She wishes...she wished…” His gaze darted to Aze before dropping again. 

Vashti stiffened. “Two god born can create a god,” she said.

Aze blushed. “Oh.” 

“A god born is sterile with anything but one of their own kind. My mother wished for a union. Oasis very rarely has children. She thought...but you aren’t on the path for that,” he hurried to say as he felt Vashti shift. “You’ve chosen something else.” 

Aze looked at Vashti. “She wanted me to lie with you? And what of my father?” 

Vashti’s lips were a thin line but Aze was curious. If she was meant to walk with Vashti just for this path, could she turn it down? 

Udin shrugged. “She hasn’t told me what he thinks of it. I didn’t ask. She gives me sight, that’s it. Are you...interested?”

Vashti stood, causing Udin to scramble back and Mama to step forward. She snorted. “I don’t need to be here for this conversation. Excuse me.” 

She stalked from the room and Aze sighed, slumping. Mama hurried after Vashti, not wanting her to get lost. Aze watched them go.

“You aren’t. Interested, I mean,” Udin said.

Aze looked back. “No. I don’t think so. But...if this is where I was meant to end up…”

“There’s no place anyone is meant to be,” Udin said, shaking his head. “This was an option. It was what my mother wanted. Maybe even your father. But you make your own path and you want her. I can’t say I understand why...her heart is tangled. Dark.” He shivered.

“She’s more than that,” Aze said softly. 

“And that’s your decision,” he said. “That feeling. When she saved you… what did you feel?” 

Aze looked up at him sharply and he exhaled quickly. “I’m curious! That’s all! It was the turning point for you. Before that you could’ve ended up anywhere. But when she stepped in, your paths narrowed.” 

Aze sighed. She’d never met another god born. The least she could do was answer his question. “I felt valued. When I first starting helping her I thought I was just a means to an end. I mean, I knew that I was. When I’d outlived my usefulness I knew she’d drop me. When that guard saw through my face I knew it was over. She wouldn’t risk being caught just for me. She had no way of knowing the cart driver wouldn’t talk. It would have been easier to run and pay him off and pretend I’d never been with her. Then she did step in. She prayed for me and brought me to a healer. She paid to save me. She carried me herself. I felt...like I was worth something. For the first time in my life I was more than just useful. I mean, I was still useful but I was more than just a fleeting help. I was more. Does that make sense?”

Udin nodded. He’d felt the same way when Kaeda had broken him out. “Yes. More than you know. Thank you. She’s in the north hall if you want to catch her.” 

Aze stood with a grateful smile. “Thank you. We’ll talk more later?”

He nodded again, waiting until she’d left to close his eyes and get back to his meditation. 

VASHTI was stalking down hallways and dark paths, unsure where she was going but knowing what she was running from. Aze wasn’t hers to keep. She’d told the woman as much. She’d ignored Aze’s warm eyes and though she’d softened more to the care the god born showed her, she hadn’t melted into it as she could have. If Aze wanted to lie with Udin, she couldn’t stop her. She wouldn’t even try. She’d be a hypocrite if she did. Aze was powerful. To lie with another powerful creature would be the ultimate show of strength between their people. Vashti slammed her fist into the wall, enjoying the shot of pain that went up her arm.

“You’ve already broken it,” Aze said softly from behind her, “Don’t make it worse.”

Vashti didn’t turn. 

“I release you,” she said to the wall, blood running into the palm of her hand. This time she had caused her own pain and she was grimly happy with that. “You don’t need to come with us. Not if this is what you want. It would make sense. Two god born together. It would be the greatest asset we could have.”

Aze tried not to take the words personally. She’d learned by now that Vashti never wanted to show vulnerability. 

“You’re not wrong,” Aze said, slightly pleased when Vashti flinched. Aze watched the blood drip from her hurt hand to the ground. She reached out and took that clenched fist and tugged until Vashti turned. “But you’ll have to forgive me. I don’t want to be our greatest asset. I want to stay with you.” 

Vashti dared not hope. The right thing to do was to tell Aze to go with Udin. To stay in the caves and lie with him until a union was formed. She knew that. Syria knew it too. Still, she couldn’t. 

_ Oh young one, it is alright to want. You are on the right path and finally it seems your heart is opening. I am honored to see it.  _

Vashti ignored Syria’s words and shook her head hard. Aze let go of her hand.

“Or...if you want me to stay here…” 

Vashti didn’t dare look up. She could picture Aze perfectly without seeing her. Her milky skin. Her bright eyes and dark hair. Her smile. Her tongue and fingers. “You saved me today,” Vashti said instead. 

Aze cocked her head. “You said that before. But it was Esher. I hid. I didn’t do anything.”

“I thought of you. Of your hands when his carved me open. I pictured your face when the other one looked between my legs. I survived with my mind because of you. It’s wrong for me to wish you beside me. This would be the best possible outcome for us. A pure child of you two would be...unprecedented in our lifetime. But gods forgive me, I can’t sanction it. Not unless it’s what you wish and even still, I’m hoping it isn’t,” Vashti said, eyes still on the ground. 

Aze laughed, the sound disbelieving and joyful. She tipped up Vashti’s chin. “You are...so frustrating sometimes. I just said I don’t want to stay here. I want to go with you. And Esher. I want to see this through but more than that...I don’t think I could leave you. You saved me. Every day that I’ve known you. I’m...I’m glad I saved you today. I’m glad I could do something, even if I wasn’t there. I would have killed those men if you hadn’t. For what they’d done to you and to all those girls...When we first met I wasn’t sure I agreed with you about this world but I see it now. I need to stay with you. I need to watch you become what you deserve to be. I don’t want this and Udin knows that. He told me where you were.” 

Aze watched Vashti’s eyes as she finished speaking and she smiled when they darted away. She cupped the blessed’s chin gently and pushed herself forward. The ring in her lip was still there but thanks to the hits to her face, it was still swollen. Aze kissed carefully, the touch nearly too light to be felt. 

Vashti sobbed. 

It startled them both. Aze caught her around the shoulders as she caved forward and Vashti, shocked at her own tears, clung to Aze. She’d been hunted. Hurt. And though she’d believed herself when she’d said she was fine, the light touch of Aze’s lips to her own had released the pain she’d locked away. She could have died. She could have broken. Esher and Aze could have been left alone. Those she’d helped would have been trapped in the lives she’d only half given them and the world could have continued on as it was. She cried, sobs causing her whole body to shake and through it, Aze held her, kneeling so they could rest against one another. 

Vashti’s sobs were loud and they echoed in the long cave. Aze knew the other blessed could hear it. Maybe even Esher could too. Still, no one came near them. Mama had followed Vashti and was now standing guard, sending those who were too curious away to other rooms. Aze stroked her hair, fingers scratching lightly at Vashti’s scalp like she knew Vashti liked. She looked down at the bloodied body of her lover and pressed her lips to the top of her head. Vashti’s cries were too loud and Aze dared to say the only thing she knew she couldn’t when Vashti could hear her.

“I love you,” she murmured into Vashti’s skin. The blessed didn’t hear her but it didn’t matter. The trust of this moment meant more to Aze than any words ever could. They stayed that way for a long time. When Vashti finally stilled and sat back, Aze kissed the tear stained cheeks of her partner and smiled gently.

“There you are,” she said. 

“Don’t,” Vashti scowled and Aze laughed.

“It’s good to know you’re a person sometimes, you know,” she said. 

“No it isn’t,” Vashti replied. It was the perfect reply and Aze’s smile widened. She patted Vashti’s cheek and stood, helping her up. 

“I won’t tell,” she said and Vashti rolled her eyes but kept her hand in Aze’s. 

“We should find Petra,” Vashti said. Aze nodded in agreement. Together they headed into the dark tunnels. Neither were worried. They were together. 


	9. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They begin to heal in the caves of Despori. Aze admits something.

ESHER walked with Petra, his eyes on Vashti’s back. Petra chuckled softly. 

“You love her too, don’t you?” she asked in Latvian. Esher blinked in surprise.

“You speak my tongue?” he asked. 

She nodded. “I was raised there. I never did see my home. I don’t know if I can even really call it that, since I never knew it. You didn’t answer my question.” 

He kept watching Vashti. She wasn’t walking as smoothly as she usually did and the anger rose in him again. “I respect her. She set me free. She proved herself.”

“And she wants you. She’s said as much. What has broken you all so much that you can’t admit it?” Petra asked, milky eyes on him. She didn’t need to look forward. She knew the echoes of Despori. It was in her blood. She could walk without her sight. 

Esher only shook his head. He wasn’t ready to delve into his feelings. Petra touched his arm. “We felt you all. It’s part of our gift. We followed her. We saw the Oasis born and we also saw you. You burned so brightly with so much anger. There were so many paths here. We couldn’t predict which one would bring you all to us. But then...you walked into the cave and we knew. It was the one we hadn’t dared hope for. You’ve been given a gift. Don’t squander it.”

He gently removed her hand from his arm. “I have to check on her,” he said. She smiled and gestured. He moved ahead to where Vashti was walking alone. When another of the blessed came to walk beside Petra, she giggled at what the woman said and nodded. They knew. The path Esher was on was one of many and he’d managed to find the perfect one. If he kept on it, he could have everything he wanted. 

VASHTI looked at him as he jogged up beside her. She smirked. “I’m fine. Petra helped. I don’t need to lean on you.”

“You think that’s why I’m here? I wanted to check on you. Are you...okay?” he hesitated and she knew immediately what he was asking.

“He didn’t get to it,” she said frankly. “I’m fine.” 

“They ripped out your rings,” he said, touching her eyebrow. “They cut you open. Even if they didn’t finish...you don’t need to pretend.”

“I’m not,” she said with a shrug. “They didn’t finish and now they’re dead. There’s no point in dwelling. I’m still here. Thanks to you.”

Esher snorted in surprise. “I…”

“You saved me with no thought of it. You killed the hunters. Don’t sell yourself short. I couldn’t stand when you found me. I was at the mercy of anyone who came by next. You are invaluable to me,” she said. 

He flushed. “Oh.”

Her gaze flicked up his chest and she smirked again. “I’m broken right now, but what you’re thinking...yes. The answer is yes. When you’re ready, of course.”

Esher was saved from answering. As his lips flapped, Kaeda called out, “It’s to the left. Follow us, now.” 

Vashti laughed as he sighed in relief. They followed the group of blessed, Esher throwing his arm over her shoulders as they went. She smiled, snaking her arm around his waist. Together, they continued into the dark. 

THE cave entrance was pitch black and Aze had to take the hand of a child while Vashti and Esher were led by one of the blessed farther up. They were blind in the dark, Aze wondering what it must be like to live life in such a way all the time. 

“Can any of you see?” she asked. 

Kaeda replied from ahead of her. “Yes. There are lights lower down. We just don’t wish to risk it up here. Hunters are always around.” 

“Oh good,” Aze sighed. Kaeda chuckled. 

“Tell me, if you couldn’t see her, would you still love her?” the blessed asked, curiosity obvious in her voice. 

Aze paused to consider the question. She’d never thought about it. But as she remembered her brightest moments with Vashti, she realized they didn’t rely on sight. “Yes,” she said. “I would. She is very beautiful but…”

“That isn’t what draws you in. Your question from before, I think I have a better answer now,” Kaeda said. The child leading Aze was silent as the two women spoke and Aze was glad of it. The darkness felt private, even with all the others around them. “You love her even with your eyes shut. There is no other place for you to be, Aze of Oasis. You’ll soon see. There was another path for you but it is too late for it. This is exactly where you were meant to end up and you’ve made sure of it. There is no right or wrong when you love someone. It might be weakness but it is also strength. Use that and you will be unstoppable. All three of you.” 

“Three?” Aze asked.

Kaeda chuckled. “Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it. You will get a choice in what you accept, there is always choice, but there is something between all of you. Something more than most would see in a lifetime.” 

Aze shook her head. “I don’t want-”

Kaeda cut her off. “Don’t deny things to us. We can see your heart. When we first felt Vashti, we were unsure of where we would stand with her. Then we felt you and you tempered her flames. Still, it was a guessing game until we met you now. There is no hiding from those like us. You may not know how you feel, but there is nothing in you that is denying a possibility.”

“She can’t have us both if she steps into the role Syria wants for her,” Aze denied.

“Who says? She wants to build a new world. What makes you think she won’t make sure there’s a place for both of you?” Kaeda asked. 

As she spoke, they reached the start of the torches. One of the seeing blessed grabbed it and began to lead them deeper into the tunnels. Aze seized the moment and scurried forward to Esher and Vashti. Kaeda shook her head and smiled. 

“What it must be like not to see,” she mused. The child next to her agreed. 

VASHTI smiled as Aze got close to her. “Did you figure whatever it was out?” she asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aze said.

It was the kind of answer Vashti would give so the woman only shrugged and leaned more into Esher’s warmth. 

“We’re all going to be alright,” she said. “I’ve thanked Jordan and Syria for what they’ve done for me and now I’ll thank Brisa and Delana as well.”

“Things seem to just fall into your lap,” Kaeda said, coming up behind them. 

Vashti lifted her ruined eyebrow and looked down her body. Kaeda shrugged. “You could have died,” she said. Vashti believed her. “Luck was on your side. Or perhaps the gods were,” Kaeda finished. 

“I’d rather believe that,” Vashti replied. 

“No doubt,” Kaeda said before stepping in front of them. She called out in the language of Despori, smiling when women rushed from the tunnels and into the light. There were more people than Vashti had been expecting and she watched in surprise as they swarmed those she had saved. There was chattering and hugging until an old woman hobbled into the space. The path was crowded but somehow, the women parted so she could draw close. She was leaning on a cane and her eyes were a pale blue, looking past them as she spoke to Kaeda. 

“This is Mama,” Kaeda said once she’d listened to what the woman had said. “She’s our matriarch. She wishes to welcome you to our home. She also wishes to thank you for bringing us back safely.” 

Vashti nodded, dipping into a small bow. Though her body hurt, it had lessened with Petra’s help and anyone who could last so long in the caves of Despori deserved it. Mama chuckled as if she could see the movement. She spoke and Kaeda nodded, a smile playing on her pale lips.

“She says there’s no need for that. A future queen shouldn’t bow to anyone.” 

“I don’t wish to rule,” Vashti said as she stood. “I only wish to free us.”

“Yes, we know. We can see your heart, Vashti Valeria. It’s why we’ve vowed to stand with you. Like the sirens of Latva, we’ll kneel for you. Whether you want it or not, you will be queen. With freedom comes a need to for leadership. Step into your role or your plan won’t hold,” Kaeda said. 

“I thought you couldn’t tell us about the future,” Aze said, trying not to sound accusing.

“There are many paths for the future. The one you are hoping for needs you to accept what you can be. While we don’t wish to influence future decisions, we also don’t wish to see a plan we agree with fall apart. You will be queen if you accept it. If you don’t those who follow you will not know who to turn to,” Kaeda explained. 

Mama nodded and spoke, the other blessed waiting until she’d finished to look at Vashti once more.

“She wishes to know if you’ll accept your role. Not much could make us consider leaving our home. This chance...it is something we barely wish to hope for. If you can’t step into your true place in life we will not be able to help you,” Kaeda translated. 

Vashti looked at Aze and then Esher. Aze, who she had promised would always stand beside her and Esher who had proved himself to her twice in one day. She turned back to Kaeda. 

“And what of them?” she asked.

Kaeda smiled as Mama babbled back. It seemed the matriarch of Delana could understand Alyrian, she just couldn’t speak it. Kaeda replied to what the woman said before saying to Vashti, “That’s up to you. You’re the one building this new world. We don’t see everything. Paths are always changing. Choices mark new corridors and we can’t possibly keep track of them all. Why do you think many rich men wish to own us? A singular focus on them gives them a better chance than just speaking to one of us would since we woud be able to focus solely on them. For you the future is a tangle of roads. You need to choose which one you walk. I’m afraid we’ve already given too much away. All I can say on that is that it seems you have already chosen.” 

Aze blushed and looked down but Vashti only nodded. There was a pause and then Mama began to speak once more. Kaeda listened and nodded.

“Mama welcomes you to our home and invites you to stay with us for as long as you need to heal. Petra is a lovely healer and she’ll help you with your hands and scars if you so wish it. She also asks if you and Aze would come with her to meet a very special person to her,” Kaeda said. 

Vashti looked at Esher who only smiled. “Go,” he urged. She nodded. 

“Alright,” she said.

“We’ll take care of him, don’t worry,” Kaeda said with a little laugh. Vashti was protective it seemed. It boded well for the future they hoped for that the streak extended to the sun siren. Petra stepped up and touched his arm. He nodded at her and Vashti relaxed. 

“Lead the way,” she told Mama and the old woman did. 

UDIN was a rarity and he knew it. He was sitting, his legs tucked under his body, following the line Aze of Oasis had walked so far. Her future was still murky but the future his mother so hoped for him was fading with each step she took. He opened his eyes when he felt Mama nearing. Though he could see, it was very faint and he squinted in the flickering light, making out the shapes of two women behind the older one. 

“Mama,” he greeted.

“You’re Alyrian,” Vashti said in surprise. “And male.”

Udin chuckled nervously. “Yes. Well. Kaeda saved me when I was just a teenager.” 

“Dalena usually blesses women,” Vashti said in fascination as she neared. He flinched slightly as she got too close and she took a step back, kneeling. “I don’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh. It’s alright. Many things startle me,” he said with a nervous titter. Aze knelt beside Vashti, her leg brushing her partner’s. Udin noted that before studying them both. “You’re Vashti Valeria and Aze of Oasis. I’ve been following your path.”

“It seems you all have,” Vashti said somewhat dryly. 

Udin chuckled again, the sound getting caught in his throat. “Yes, well, they had me do it because of what I am.”

“A male blessed,” Vashti said.

“No,” Aze breathed. “Not blessed.” 

She was staring at him. He couldn’t make himself look back. He only nodded, eyes downcast. Vashti caught up quickly and leaned forward. There was a tattoo on the young man’s head. A crudely drawn eye right between his eyebrows. Her lip curled. He had scars on his wrists, the ones that came from too tight shackles. He’d been kept locked up, probably because of his rarity. 

“You’re god born,” she said. 

He looked up, sandy hair long enough to fall in his eyes. “I am. Delana is my mother. She wishes...she wished…” His gaze darted to Aze before dropping again. 

Vashti stiffened. “Two god born can create a god,” she said.

Aze blushed. “Oh.” 

“A god born is sterile with anything but one of their own kind. My mother wished for a union. Oasis very rarely has children. She thought...but you aren’t on the path for that,” he hurried to say as he felt Vashti shift. “You’ve chosen something else.” 

Aze looked at Vashti. “She wanted me to lie with you? And what of my father?” 

Vashti’s lips were a thin line but Aze was curious. If she was meant to walk with Vashti just for this path, could she turn it down? 

Udin shrugged. “She hasn’t told me what he thinks of it. I didn’t ask. She gives me sight, that’s it. Are you...interested?”

Vashti stood, causing Udin to scramble back and Mama to step forward. She snorted. “I don’t need to be here for this conversation. Excuse me.” 

She stalked from the room and Aze sighed, slumping. Mama hurried after Vashti, not wanting her to get lost. Aze watched them go.

“You aren’t. Interested, I mean,” Udin said.

Aze looked back. “No. I don’t think so. But...if this is where I was meant to end up…”

“There’s no place anyone is meant to be,” Udin said, shaking his head. “This was an option. It was what my mother wanted. Maybe even your father. But you make your own path and you want her. I can’t say I understand why...her heart is tangled. Dark.” He shivered.

“She’s more than that,” Aze said softly. 

“And that’s your decision,” he said. “That feeling. When she saved you… what did you feel?” 

Aze looked up at him sharply and he exhaled quickly. “I’m curious! That’s all! It was the turning point for you. Before that you could’ve ended up anywhere. But when she stepped in, your paths narrowed.” 

Aze sighed. She’d never met another god born. The least she could do was answer his question. “I felt valued. When I first starting helping her I thought I was just a means to an end. I mean, I knew that I was. When I’d outlived my usefulness I knew she’d drop me. When that guard saw through my face I knew it was over. She wouldn’t risk being caught just for me. She had no way of knowing the cart driver wouldn’t talk. It would have been easier to run and pay him off and pretend I’d never been with her. Then she did step in. She prayed for me and brought me to a healer. She paid to save me. She carried me herself. I felt...like I was worth something. For the first time in my life I was more than just useful. I mean, I was still useful but I was more than just a fleeting help. I was more. Does that make sense?”

Udin nodded. He’d felt the same way when Kaeda had broken him out. “Yes. More than you know. Thank you. She’s in the north hall if you want to catch her.” 

Aze stood with a grateful smile. “Thank you. We’ll talk more later?”

He nodded again, waiting until she’d left to close his eyes and get back to his meditation. 

VASHTI was stalking down hallways and dark paths, unsure where she was going but knowing what she was running from. Aze wasn’t hers to keep. She’d told the woman as much. She’d ignored Aze’s warm eyes and though she’d softened more to the care the god born showed her, she hadn’t melted into it as she could have. If Aze wanted to lie with Udin, she couldn’t stop her. She wouldn’t even try. She’d be a hypocrite if she did. Aze was powerful. To lie with another powerful creature would be the ultimate show of strength between their people. Vashti slammed her fist into the wall, enjoying the shot of pain that went up her arm.

“You’ve already broken it,” Aze said softly from behind her, “Don’t make it worse.”

Vashti didn’t turn. 

“I release you,” she said to the wall, blood running into the palm of her hand. This time she had caused her own pain and she was grimly happy with that. “You don’t need to come with us. Not if this is what you want. It would make sense. Two god born together. It would be the greatest asset we could have.”

Aze tried not to take the words personally. She’d learned by now that Vashti never wanted to show vulnerability. 

“You’re not wrong,” Aze said, slightly pleased when Vashti flinched. Aze watched the blood drip from her hurt hand to the ground. She reached out and took that clenched fist and tugged until Vashti turned. “But you’ll have to forgive me. I don’t want to be our greatest asset. I want to stay with you.” 

Vashti dared not hope. The right thing to do was to tell Aze to go with Udin. To stay in the caves and lie with him until a union was formed. She knew that. Syria knew it too. Still, she couldn’t. 

_ Oh young one, it is alright to want. You are on the right path and finally it seems your heart is opening. I am honored to see it.  _

Vashti ignored Syria’s words and shook her head hard. Aze let go of her hand.

“Or...if you want me to stay here…” 

Vashti didn’t dare look up. She could picture Aze perfectly without seeing her. Her milky skin. Her bright eyes and dark hair. Her smile. Her tongue and fingers. “You saved me today,” Vashti said instead. 

Aze cocked her head. “You said that before. But it was Esher. I hid. I didn’t do anything.”

“I thought of you. Of your hands when his carved me open. I pictured your face when the other one looked between my legs. I survived with my mind because of you. It’s wrong for me to wish you beside me. This would be the best possible outcome for us. A pure child of you two would be...unprecedented in our lifetime. But gods forgive me, I can’t sanction it. Not unless it’s what you wish and even still, I’m hoping it isn’t,” Vashti said, eyes still on the ground. 

Aze laughed, the sound disbelieving and joyful. She tipped up Vashti’s chin. “You are...so frustrating sometimes. I just said I don’t want to stay here. I want to go with you. And Esher. I want to see this through but more than that...I don’t think I could leave you. You saved me. Every day that I’ve known you. I’m...I’m glad I saved you today. I’m glad I could do something, even if I wasn’t there. I would have killed those men if you hadn’t. For what they’d done to you and to all those girls...When we first met I wasn’t sure I agreed with you about this world but I see it now. I need to stay with you. I need to watch you become what you deserve to be. I don’t want this and Udin knows that. He told me where you were.” 

Aze watched Vashti’s eyes as she finished speaking and she smiled when they darted away. She cupped the blessed’s chin gently and pushed herself forward. The ring in her lip was still there but thanks to the hits to her face, it was still swollen. Aze kissed carefully, the touch nearly too light to be felt. 

Vashti sobbed. 

It startled them both. Aze caught her around the shoulders as she caved forward and Vashti, shocked at her own tears, clung to Aze. She’d been hunted. Hurt. And though she’d believed herself when she’d said she was fine, the light touch of Aze’s lips to her own had released the pain she’d locked away. She could have died. She could have broken. Esher and Aze could have been left alone. Those she’d helped would have been trapped in the lives she’d only half given them and the world could have continued on as it was. She cried, sobs causing her whole body to shake and through it, Aze held her, kneeling so they could rest against one another. 

Vashti’s sobs were loud and they echoed in the long cave. Aze knew the other blessed could hear it. Maybe even Esher could too. Still, no one came near them. Mama had followed Vashti and was now standing guard, sending those who were too curious away to other rooms. Aze stroked her hair, fingers scratching lightly at Vashti’s scalp like she knew Vashti liked. She looked down at the bloodied body of her lover and pressed her lips to the top of her head. Vashti’s cries were too loud and Aze dared to say the only thing she knew she couldn’t when Vashti could hear her.

“I love you,” she murmured into Vashti’s skin. The blessed didn’t hear her but it didn’t matter. The trust of this moment meant more to Aze than any words ever could. They stayed that way for a long time. When Vashti finally stilled and sat back, Aze kissed the tear stained cheeks of her partner and smiled gently.

“There you are,” she said. 

“Don’t,” Vashti scowled and Aze laughed.

“It’s good to know you’re a person sometimes, you know,” she said. 

“No it isn’t,” Vashti replied. It was the perfect reply and Aze’s smile widened. She patted Vashti’s cheek and stood, helping her up. 

“I won’t tell,” she said and Vashti rolled her eyes but kept her hand in Aze’s. 

“We should find Petra,” Vashti said. Aze nodded in agreement. Together they headed into the dark tunnels. Neither were worried. They were together. 


End file.
